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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28594941">Nightmare Interrupted</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomdeguerre/pseuds/nomdeguerre'>nomdeguerre</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Alcohol, Angst, Awkward Crush, Boys Kissing, College, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Making Out, Multi, Secret Crush, Teen Romance, Underage Drinking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:02:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>38,460</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28594941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomdeguerre/pseuds/nomdeguerre</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"We're talking about Mark here! I've known Mark for eternity, do you want to tell me that when he drinks he suddenly..." Haechan raised a brow folding his arms close to his chest. </p><p>"Mark knows you for the same exact length of time, does he know about your little secret?" Jaehyun asked raising both brows at Haechan. </p><p>"He doesn't!" Jaehyun answered for him. "Maybe Mark has his own little secret as well and it happens that you discovered it by accident," Jaehyun said in a matter-of-fact tone. </p><p>Haechan was left with a foggy brain. </p><p>Not even the hottest sun on a day with the nicest weather can lift the fog up nor burn the memory of the lingering kiss a drunk Mark pressed on his lips to ashes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Markhyuck</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I started writing this out of boredom but I might continue if you guys like it?<br/>*Ignore time-lapses,<br/>*Ignore errors,<br/>*Side ships,<br/>*Will tag trigger warnings as I add more chapters.<br/>I haven't planned the end of the story yet, as I usually sit down and type away the chapters based on my feelings. So stick around to find out where my feelings and moods are going to take Markhyuck.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> "Will you let me in?" Mark breathed out once his drowsy eyes met with Donghyuck's for a brief second before falling back to the ground again with his dark locks falling along brushing lightly with his eyelashes. Mark had one hand on the side of the wall, while the other was on his knee supporting his weight. He was breathing heavily as if he was running away from his own shadow chasing him endlessly. </p><p>"You're bleeding!" was all that Donghyuck managed to say sporting a bewildered look on his face after examining the whole image in front of him for the last ten seconds since he opened the door of his apartment.</p><p>Donghyuck reached his hand out and snagged Mark's wrist pulling his hand from his knee, throwing his arm around his shoulder pulling him up to his feet. He took a mental note that the elder most probably has a high rate of alcohol running in his blood as he reeked with that smell. "Hang in there!" Donghyuck whispered softly carefully dragging Mark inside and the next thing he noticed is that Mark was limping eyes shut tight in pain. </p><p>Donghyuck shut the door closed behind him with his foot adverting his attention back to Mark's body who totally gave in putting all of its weight on the younger. "Few more steps to the couch!" Donghyuck's shaky voice gave it away that he was totally nervous and scared not knowing the background story of what made such a mess out of his best friend/crush. </p><p>Donghyuck gently placed Mark down who instantly threw his head back on the couch wrapping his right arm around his stomach frowning in pain. Before Donghyuck was able to say anything, he felt his phone buzzing in his shorts' pocket. Donghyuck pulled out his phone sighing reading the name of the caller. </p><p>"Is Mark hyung with you?" the voice over the phone asked the moment Donghyuck picked up. </p><p>"Care to explain why he looks half dead, Na Jaemin?" Haechan asked face red as he was starting to get angry. </p><p>"I think we should be thankful he made it there not so fully dead!" Jaemin said in a matter-of-fact tone. </p><p>"What happened?" Haechan patiently asked stomping his way to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. </p><p>"He got into a fight that's all I can tell you now. I gotta run as Renjun doesn't look any better here, just take care of him please!" Jaemin begged, before he ended the call.</p><p>Donghyuck shoved the phone back into his pocket. He rolled his eyes clenching his teeth trying to keep his emotions under control. He grabbed the box of first aid kit and made his way back to the living room in a rush.</p><p>"Hey," Donghyuck whispered kneeling in front of a half-conscious Mark. "Stay with me, hyung!" Donghyuck firmly said giving small taps on the elder's bare knee through his black ripped jeans. </p><p>Mark breathed in sitting himself straight for a mere second only to lean down and rest his forehead on Donghyuck's shoulder, arm still wrapped around his stomach. Mark growled in the process which made Donghyuck glance at him from the corner of his eyes not wanting to make any wrong move because he still didn't know what was the main source of the elder's pain. </p><p>Donghyuck noticed a strain of blood running down Mark's temple. He couldn't see the rest of his face as his dark hair was covering most of it. "I need you to lean back, Mark," Donghyuck said placing both of his hands on each side of the elder's shoulder pushing him back gently only to earn another growl as Mark's eyebrows furrowed, breath getting heavier.</p><p>"What did you do to yourself you dumb ass!" Donghyuck exclaimed grabbing ointment from the box, squeezing some on his finger. He jumped on his feet dropping his knee on the sofa next to the elder. Mark opened his eyes slowly, staring right into Donghyuck's eyes which made the younger freeze motionless for a second. Donghyuck bit the inside of his lip as he felt weak under those stares. "It's gonna sting!" Donghyuck finally said snapping out of it. Mark let out a soft chuckle at how he was being babied by the younger at this moment. </p><p>Donghyuck pushed Mark's fringe out of his temple with his free hand to reveal a small cut on his soft skin. "You dare to smile in this situation?" Donghyuck asked rubbing the ointment on the wound. 'That's gonna leave a scar,' Donghyuck thought to himself. Mark whimpered when the cold cream met with his fresh wound. Donghyuck stopped rubbing it when he felt satisfied with the amount of medicine he applied. He held the side of Mark's face turning it slightly to the side as he started blowing on his cut to ease the pain. </p><p>"Better?" Donghyuck asked which made him earn a slight nod from the elder. He sealed the cut with a liquid bandage sighing in the process. Donghyuck's eyes landed on Mark's lips next. He leaned in closely examining the bruised corner with stains of blood. He rubbed his thumb on the side of his lips and to his surprise, Mark leaned into his touch.</p><p>Donghyuck knew Mark since forever, he's his childhood best friend and the one thing his best friend hates the most is skinship. Mark would always be making vomiting noises whenever Donghyuck tried to hold his hand and tease him with sneaky kisses. The latter looked so vulnerable under his touch right now and Donghyuck just wanted to cuddle him and sleep everything away. </p><p>"Who did this to you?" Donghyuck asked not expecting any answer as Mark couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. The younger grabbed a cotton swab dipping it into a saline solution to clean the wound first. "Don't sleep here hyung, I'm almost done I'll take you to my bed, hum?" Donghyuck tried to keep the elder distracted so he wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon as he kept working on treating his wounds. Mark suddenly coughed from the strong smell of alcohol that suddenly hit his nose gripping on his side as he coughed some more. </p><p>Donghyuck immediately placed the cotton swab down giving Mark light pats on his back noticing the damage in the collar of his white plain shirt. It was slightly ripped as if someone grabbed him from there. Mark groaned clenching on his side that he kept holding ever since he made it to Donghyuck's dorm and the younger's attention shifted to that. "Hyung!" Donghyuck called out grabbing Mark's arm away pressing not so gently on his hip which made Mark release a moan muffled with a painful grown. Donghyuck quickly lifted his shirt up to reveal a red large bruise that is already switching to purple color. "I need to get you to a hospital!" Donghyuck's eyes widened at the sight and he immediately grabbed his phone to call an ambulance only to be stopped by a firm grip on his wrist. </p><p>"Don't!" Mark breathed out and Donghyuck realized that this is the first thing he heard the elder say ever since he arrived. "Don't be stubborn, Mark I can't treat this! This looks serious!" Donghyuck cried out watching Mark shake his head from side to side. "I'm fine! Hyuck...please!" Mark begged, giving Donghyuck's wrist a small clutch. "You can't show up looking like shit at my door and expect me to be so calm about it when I know nothing of what happened and the only thing I know is that you most probably need medical attention right now!" Donghyuck snapped as he started to lose it feeling tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. </p><p>"Don't cry!" Mark ordered reaching a hand out to cup Donghyuck's cheek which fits perfectly in the elder's palm. Donghyuck's heart started racing at the touch as the elder never in his life touched him in that way neither looked at him the way he did at that moment. Mark's thumb drawing comforting circles on the younger's golden skin succeeded in calming him down. Donghyuck convinced himself that the only reason Mark was acting like this, is because he's drunk and totally wasted. Mark gave Donghyuck a small smile before moving his hand down to rest it on his nape. </p><p>Donghyuck felt weak under his sudden touches, locking eyes with Mark who brushed his finger lightly through the back of the younger's hair, it felt right and wrong at the same time. Donghyuck was about to ask Mark to stay put so he can finish treating him when Mark suddenly applied pressure on the back of the younger's neck which made him lean down closing the gap between them. Donghyuck let out a small gasp in the process quickly placing a hand on the side of the elder's shoulder so he wouldn't crush him with his weight. </p><p>The next thing he knew is that he was few inches away from Mark's face, eyes locked - Donghyuck's eyes filled with confusion and Mark's with something Donghyuck couldn't read - "Hyung!" Donghyuck whispered, gulping down his own salvia. "Shhhh," Mark whispered back lifting his head up to meet Donghyuck's lips in the middle. </p><p>Donghyuck's eyes snapped open at the touch of their warm lips, whereas Mark closed his eyes feeling totally lost in the contact. Mark moved first nipping on the younger's upper lip trying to discover the new taste he was enjoying. Donghyuck's mouth slightly opened in surprise and the elder took the chance to give his lower lip a small bite, licking it afterward. Mark's tongue didn't stop there as he grabbed on the younger's hair pulling him even closer to have access to the unknown corners that Mark suddenly wanted to explore in Haechan's mouth. Donghyuck started breathing heavily when Mark's tongue pushed past his parted lips giving him a taste of alcohol. "Hyung!" Donghyuck found his voice after pushing himself away from Mark, taking in the air he needed to breathe for the past few minutes. </p><p>Mark just groaned throwing his head backward closing his eyes when his headache kicked in. Donghyuck just sat there glowering at him bewildered. He touched his lips incredulously. He couldn't simply process what just happened. Donghyuck always dreamed of kissing Mark. He always wondered how he tasted like. He always thought about the feeling of having his soft lips on his own. Never in a million years, he would think that Mark would kiss him, not even when he was drunk. Donghyuck felt his blood running faster and he was just looking around in confusion not knowing what to do. </p><p>Mark obviously fell asleep right away. Donghyuck took his time to calm down and proceeded in putting plasters on every wound he could spot after thoroughly treating them. He managed to take off his leather jacket and shirt tossing them away on a chair. He unbuttoned his jeans so he would feel more comfortable in his sleep. He carefully pushed the elder to lay down supporting him with one arm under his back and covered him with a blanket making sure he would be kept warm for the rest of the night. </p><p>Donghyuck sat on the floor in front of the sofa watching Mark sleeping peacefully, his chest moving up and down as he breathed. He could hear him whimper when he exhales and Donghyuck knew that Mark is not gonna feel any better the next day. Donghyuck grabbed his phone from his pocket, back resting against the sofa, he unlocked it searching for a specific contact to call. </p><p>He pulled his knees closer to his chest resting his forehead on them, the phone next to his ear ringing. It was 02:43 in the morning. </p><p>"Hello?" The person on the other line answered, voice sounding husky and sleepy. </p><p>"Hyung! It's Haechan!" Donghyuck said using the name people always call him with. "I know it's late, I'm sorry," Donghyuck continued "But I need you to come over!" </p><p>"Haechan?" The voice on the other side of the line sounded more awoke now "Are you okay?" He asked. </p><p>"Just come, please!" Haechan begged, biting on his thumb trying to hold his tears back. </p><p>"Ok, Ok! Be there in 10 minutes." The elder said ending the call.</p><p>Haechan dropped his phone on the carpet, burying his face into his legs as tears rolled down his eyes. </p><p>It took his cousin more than 10 minutes to be there but Haechan was more than relieved to see him - even though he didn't look so good himself, probably still half asleep -.</p><p>"Jaehyun-hyung!" Haechan called out after opening the door. </p><p>Jaehyun had to admit that Haechan doesn't cry easily, even though he is the baby of the family, the younger always showed that he's capable to lead and had a strong opinion and was most of the time right. For Jaehyun to see Haechan looking like a mess at past 03:00 in the morning, he was actually concerned. </p><p>"There! There!" Jaehyun tapped on the younger's back with one hand closing the door behind him with the other when Haechan immediately shoved his face into his chest. "Everything's fine! It's ok!" Jaehyun softly said drawing comforting circles on Haechan's back. </p><p>"Fuck, I'm gonna be so embarrassed tomorrow and I will regret calling you!" Haechan said through a muffled sob. </p><p>"Language!" Jaehyun said flicking the side of the boy's head. "And why are you whispering?"Jaehyun asked. </p><p>"Mark's sleeping!" Haechan explained nodding in the direction of the living room, setting free from his cousin's hug making quiet steps there.</p><p>"Mark's here?" Jaehyun asked taking off his shoes trailing behind the younger who nodded in response. </p><p>Once both were in the living room Jaehyun examined Mark's face only to notice how it was swollen and covered with plasters on different spots. Jaehyun frowned looking back at Haechan expecting an instant explanation.  </p><p>"I don't know! He appeared like that in my front door, he refused to go to the hospital and it was useless to ask him about what happened because he's drunk" Haechan gave in all of the information he managed to collect by himself as well as his conclusion which sounded convincing to Jaehyun. </p><p>"He might have a broken bone hyung honestly, I don't know what to do!" Haechan said in frustration grabbing on his hair with one hand. </p><p>"Does Johnny know about this?" Jaehyun asked pulling the blanket away from Mark who immediately shivered at the change of temperature. The reason why Haechan called Jaehyun, was because his cousin goes to a medical school and he's also an intern in one of the biggest hospitals in Seoul. </p><p>"Johnny went back to Chicago two days ago, he has some business there and that's all I know," Haechan said rubbing his temple. </p><p>"So this baby tiger right here is running wild and free?" Jaehyun asked pressing here and there on Mark's torso sometimes earning reactions from the sleeping boy. "I believe there's nothing serious! He's gonna be in a lot of pain tomorrow though when the effect of alcohol fades away. Make sure to prepare ice bags, he'll need them!" Jaehyun said examining Mark's face next.</p><p>"Lee Haechan!" Jaehyun called which made the younger snap away from his train of thoughts "Were you listening?" Jaehyun asked."Yes, I have ice bags in the freezer" Haechan quickly answered, thankful that he captured what his cousin instructed somehow. 

"Now," Jaehyun said looking back at Haechan after making sure to cover Mark with his blanket again. "I know how you feel about this boy and how much you care about him," Jaehyun started closing the distance between him and his little cousin "But it's not like you to cry on the phone because Mark got into a fight when you do that yourself, too." Jaehyun folded his arm towering over the boy waiting for answers. "I was... it's not the same! His injuries looked very bad!" Haechan said curling the hem of his hoodie around his finger. </p><p>"The truth, Lee Donghyuck!" Jaehyun said resting his weight on one leg. Haechan knew that his cousin had little patience and he felt bad for bringing him all the way here for nothing. Jaehyun was the only one who knows about Haechan's true feelings towards Mark. He knows that his little cousin has a major crush on his best friend and has been suffering from muting his feeling for years because he's frightened that Mark would freak out and run away from him because there's no chance Mark would feel the same way. Mark was more than straight - or at least that's what all people think -, he was into girls and there was no way for Mark to make an exception for Haechan. </p><p>Ever since Haechan opened up to Jaehyun about his sexuality, he never misses a chance to tell him about all of his little secrets when he needs to and Jaehyun thankfully was very open-minded, he accepted everything gracefully. </p><p>"He... he kissed me!" Haechan said looking up to check the elder's reaction. Jaehyun had his brows knitted waiting for more to come but Haechan just stopped there glancing back at the floor. "He kissed you?" Jaehyun dumbfoundedly repeated in which Haechan nodded. </p><p>"I don't know what's gotten into him" Haechan snapped hissing and Jaehyun gave a quick glance at Mark who moved in his sleep.</p><p>"Shhhh, come here!" Jaehyun grabbed the shorter one from his arm leading him back to the corridor. "And you cried because he kissed you?" Jaehyun asked letting go of his arm. </p><p>"I cried because it's wrong hyung!" Haechan stomped one foot on the ground looking up at his taller cousin tears starting to fill the corner of his eyes again.</p><p>"What makes you think that?" Jaehyun asked leading the conversation little by little in order to understand the younger's feelings better. "I thought you always wanted to have a taste of him!" Jaehyun added which made Haechan's face turn bright red, eyes widening, shocked at the blunt accusation.</p><p>"Not in that way!" Haechan whispered under his breath using the back of his sleeve to wipe his sniffy noise. </p><p>"In which way then?" Jaehyun asked still not understanding the point of the younger boy. </p><p>"It hurts that he did it because he wasn't thinking straight not because he truly likes me in that way" Haechan sniffed again holding back his tears.</p><p>"Who said he wasn't thinking? Don't you know that alcohol chemically changes perception, thinking, and emotionality, and most of the time to the honest side?" Jaehyun blunted out straight facts and Haechan almost rolled his eyes at his cousin's answer. </p><p>"We're talking about Mark here hyung! I know Mark for eternity, do you want to tell me that when he drinks he suddenly switches sexuality now?" Haechan raised a brow folding his arms close to his chest. </p><p>"Mark knows you for the same exact length of time, does he know about your little secret?" Jaehyun asked raising both brows at Haechan referring to his deep feelings for Mark that are buried somewhere in his heart. "He doesn't!" Jaehyun answered for him. "Maybe Mark has his own little secret as well that he's not ready to share but, you discovered it by accident?" Jaehyun asked in a matter-of-fact tone. </p><p>Haechan furrowed, eyes switching to the ground, lips parted apart as if he wanted to say something but didn't find the words in the back of his mind. </p><p>"I'm not saying my assumption is correct Haechanie," Jaehyun moved closer to him placing a hand on his shoulder. "But just think about it, it'll help you stop hurting at least." Jaehyun leaned down to be on the same level with his cousin's face "What a cry baby!" He chuckled wiping the tears away from his face. </p><p>Haechan shoved his cousin away not so hard "I'm not!" he defended himself scrunching his nose after sniffling again. </p><p>"I suggest you get some sleep now?" Jaehyun said after noticing that Haechan has somehow calmed down a bit. "Just wait until he sobers up so you can have answers to your questions" Jaehyun advised.</p><p>"Thank you for coming!" Haechan said pursing his lips into a little smile.</p><p>"You did a good job with the cuts on his face but make sure he drops by at the hospital tomorrow, he still needs an X-ray just to make sure everything's Ok" Jaehyun gave Haechan's head a small pat walking towards his own shoes to wear them. </p><p>"Will do" Haechan answered waving goodbye to his cousin who left to catch the few hours of sleep left on his watch. </p><p>Haechan sighed loudly rubbing both of his eyes. He walked back into the living room and took a seat on the ground in front of the sofa. He fixed the blanket over Mark's shoulder tucking it here and there. He reached out to brush his hair out of his face "Stupid!" Haechan whispered giving Mark a small smile.</p><p>He turned around to face the TV, opening a random series on Netflix. Mind occupied with endless thoughts, he was just starring at the subtitles changing every second until sleep took over him right on the spot. </p><p>TBC.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's just the mention of hospital here. I wanted to let you know in case this topic makes you feel uncomfortable somehow. If it doesn't, I wanna say hope you enjoy reading this!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I feel like this chapter is lacking... But, stick around guys please! I promise it'll get better when the love birds clear the air between them.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day. </p><p>Mark's eyes slowly opened and one side of his face scrunched when the pain hit hard everywhere in his body that his brain failed to locate the part that hurt the most. He breathed hard, letting out a small whimper. Glancing up at the ceiling, he noticed that his vision wasn't focused. He shut his eyes tight then opened them again examining his surrounding. He managed to perceive that he wasn't at home but the place looked familiar. 'Haechan'. He thought, and that's when his eyes landed on the younger's head right beside him. Haechan was crawled into a ball right next to him on the floor with his head resting on the edge of the couch. </p><p>"Haechan!" Mark called but it only came out as a whisper at first. "Lee Haechan!" Mark tried again, lifting his right arm to rest it on the younger's head who jumped at the immediate touch. "Hyung! You Ok?" The boy instantly asked with worried, half-asleep eyes. Mark gave him an assuring smile with a small nod. "Why didn't you sleep in your... room?" Mark asked, voice cracking as he tried to finish his sentence. "You look like shit!" Donghyuck replied now that he felt more awake and was able to take a better look at Mark's face. "That doesn't answer my question!" Mark said gulping and closing his eyes as he started to feel the headache kicking in. "I was watching Netflix and I snoozed" Haechan lied. He wouldn't tell Mark that he was worried sick about him and that he actually cried himself to sleep. </p><p>"Let me grab you a painkiller first!" Haechan said, standing up making his way out of the room. Mark tried to lift his head up but failed miserably. Every single part of his body ached. Mark looked around and sighed. He licked his upper lip biting on his lower one as he stared at the TV that had a blank screen with "Next episode" on it in the corner. Haechan came back and Mark's attention switched to the younger boy who was holding yogurt and a small spoon in one hand, a cup of water in the other, a small pack of pills, and an ice bag under his arm. Haechan placed everything carefully on the table across from the sofa and looked back at Mark. </p><p>"Do you think you can sit down for a couple of minutes?" Haechan asked. Mark held his hand out for Haechan to hold indicating that he needed help with that. Haechan did not hesitate to grab it firmly, placing his other arm under Mark's back to support him. Mark managed to sit and Haechan quickly grabbed the first two pillows his eyes landed on shoving them behind his back for support. "Oh, God!" Mark breathed out as he couldn't believe how bad his current state was. "You have to eat this!" Haechan said handing him the yogurt and the spoon. "Plain yogurt?" Mark whined. "Try to nag again and it'll end up on your face, as a face mask" Haechan glared "Your face needs it more than your stomach does anyway!" He added. Mark chuckled lightly taking them away from the younger "Someone is grumpy." Mark said opening the lid of the yogurt as he started eating slowly. "Dare to smile again in this situation and I'll stab you!" Haechan threatened. "Someone is angry!" Mark corrected. </p><p>Haechan rolled his eyes sitting down on the table where he placed the rest of the utilities he'll need later. He folded his arms against his chest and stared at Mark who was making faces every time he opened his mouth to eat. 'The bruise in the corner of his mouth must be the cause of it' Haechan guessed. "So?" Haechan asked impatiently as he had waited enough to hear the answers he needed. "It's this stupid dude that needed to be taught a lesson," Mark answered shortly placing now his empty yogurt on the sofa's arm. "And you decided you were the perfect teacher for that?" Haechan sarcastically asked taking away the empty yogurt to place it next to him on the table. "Don't put pressure on me Haechan, I wasn't in the right state of mind!" Mark defended himself rubbing his eyes. "Can I lean back? I can't take it anymore!" Mark added burying his face into his hands. "Drink this up first!" Haechan ordered handing Mark a pill and a glass of water. </p><p>Mark leaned back again letting out a heavy breath after swallowing down his medicine. His eyes opened wide when Haechan suddenly placed the cold ice bag on his hip. "Try to endure it as much as you can, it's turning purple!" Haechan said pressing on the injury which made mark let out a huffed groan. Haechan shook his head in disappointment and moved to place the other ice bag on his ankle which probably was sprained. "Jaehyun said your side looks fine but we still need to go to the hospital later for a check-up," Haechan said as he sat next to Mark on the edge of the sofa holding the ice bag that was on his hip in the right place trying not to get distracted by the elder's exposed skin. "Jaehyun was here?" Mark asked lifting his eyebrows up. "I called him because someone was acting too stubborn and refused to go to the hospital!" Haechan answered giving him a look. "He'll definitely tell Johnny!" Mark thought out loud in which Haechan answered "He better does!" in response. </p><p>"I honestly don't remember a thing after the last punch I threw, Hyuck" Mark blurted out "I don't even know how I made it here" Mark added. "Oh! Renjun!" Mark suddenly shouted. "He was in the fight as well!" Mark added. "Chill! I texted Jaemin a few minutes ago, he said he looks more alive than you do" Haechan said looking at Mark who sighed in relief at the answer. </p><p>Haechan felt a stab in his heart upon hearing Mark saying he didn't remember a thing of what happened yesterday. He expected this to happen, he didn't expect Mark to wake up and explain why he locked lips with him that late at night anyway. Haechan was mentally prepared for that, it just bothered him that he's gonna be the only one walking around with the thoughts and flashbacks of that incident, as he liked to label it. Haechan let out a small sigh. "Are you that angry?" Mark asked earning a glare from the younger. "It's not like this is the first time I get into a fight, usually you're part of it, too" Mark added. "Why are you so upset?" Mark asked placing his hand on top of Haechan's who flinched at the immediate touch pulling his hand away. </p><p>"Wow! You must be Really angry!" Mark said in surprise eyes looking confused. "Shirt on, jacket as well! Don't be a brat, I'm ordering a taxi we need to see Jaehyun" Haechan answered in the process of standing up when Mark grabbed his hand again pulling him down. Haechan raised one eyebrow wondering where did the sudden energy in his half-dead friend come from. "We're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong!" Mark said in a serious voice. "What do you mean?" Haechan cluelessly asked. "You're acting very cold and I believe there's a valid reason behind that?" Mark said tilting his head to the side to catch the younger's eyes.</p><p>"I'm just worried about you Ok?" Haechan answered hoping that Mark would buy it. "Yes, we got into fights before but usually I'm the one who gets angry and starts it," Haechan said pointing at himself "You're the 'let's talk first' kind of guy, and I honestly don't understand what triggered you that much to get into such a big quarrel!" Haechan finished sighing. "They were four and I was by myself until Renjun joined..."Mark explained letting go slowly of the younger's hand, feeling disappointed at the loss of contact. "The reason why I started it is worth all of the bruises and injuries I have now" Mark finished. "Oh! Enlighten me please! What is this very convincing reason, I would very much like to hear it," Haechan said mockingly. "It's over now, Hyuck!" Mark pursed his lips into a small smile "It's not important!" Mark added. "If you say so, Mark! I won't push!" Haechan lifted his hands in the air standing up to pick up the glass of water and the rest of the things he needs to put back into the right place. </p><p>Once left alone, Mark let out a sigh closing his eyes as he felt his blood boil remembering the events of the previous night. One side of him was glad that Haechan stayed at home yesterday and didn't hang out with them. If Haechan was there, he could've been deeply hurt, both physically and mentally. The fight was about Haechan after all and Mark wouldn't spill the truth out as long as his best friend doesn't know about it. Mark ran his hand through his hair feeling frustrated because he hates keeping things from Haechan and the younger obviously looked very disappointed. The other side of him was convinced that the fight was worth it because he just likes it when Haechan is worried about him. </p><p>Haechan came back all dressed holding a spare clean hoodie on one arm and a jacket on the other. "Bathroom, let's wash your face and brush your teeth then I'll help you get into those" Haehcan said waving both pieces of clothes throwing them on the armchair after that. "Just help me get there Hyuck, I can manage by myself don't worry!" Mark said lifting himself up stopping mid-way to rest his body on his elbows throwing his head back in pain. "Look! as much as you hate me being all over you, you're gonna have to deal with it these days!" Haechan snarkily said leaning down to wrap both arms around the elder's torso lifting him up to a seating position. "You cold?" Haechan asked when he felt the skin under his touch was actually not so warm "A bit!" Mark answered scooting closer to the edge of the sofa ready to stand up. "Let's get you into this first, then!" Haechan said grabbing his hoodie rolling the hem up to make space for Mark's head to go in. </p><p>Mark's hair bounced back up once his head made it through the collar and Haechan smiled softly at that, preparing the sleeve for Mark to slide his arms in. "Gosh Hyuck I'm no baby" Mark complained. "You're welcome! You nag one more time and I'll throw you outside, no regrets!" Haechan said ignoring Mark's previous comment. Mark on the other side was actually enjoying the soft fabric of Haechan's hoodie hugging his body, not to mention that it smelled exactly like him which made him feel more reassured and secure. </p><p>"Don't put too much pressure on your foot!" Haechan ordered when he saw Mark limping. Haechan wrapped his arm tightly around Mark's waist to help him keep steady until they reached the bathroom."I'll be in the living room if you need help knock on the door," Haechan said letting Mark in who immediately dropped his hands on the sink for support. "I'll be just fine don't worry!" Mark answered taking a look at his swollen face full of different colors. "You still look handsome!" Haechan shouted closing the door behind him. Mark shook his head at his silly friend opening the tap for cool water to wash his face. </p><p>Mark smiled at the toothbrushes sitting in a plastic cup with the toothpaste on the side of the sink. Each one of the toothbrushes had a name tag secured with tape. One that says 'Canada' the other one has 'Full Sun' on it. Mark smiled at the sight remembering how Haechan used to nag all the time because Mark never brings his toothbrush when he sleeps at Haechan's place - which happens 99% of the time - and ends up using Haechan's. The latter would get furious about it and say that Mark is very annoying. Apparently, the younger have had enough and took the initiative to buy a pair for both. </p><p>Once Mark was done washing-up, he opened the door of the bathroom only to find Haechan leaning on the wall busy texting someone. "Your living room moved to the corridor?" Mark chuckled surprised that the younger was waiting the whole time outside. "Shut up!" Haechan said throwing Mark's arm around his shoulder helping him down the hallway to the door "I'm older than you!" Mark glared "You're Canada, Korean formality doesn't apply on you," Haechan answered grabbing the jacket he prepared for Mark to wear "I'm still older than you, Hyuck!" Mark insisted that Haechan doesn't have a point. "I'll respect you later, wear this first!" Haechan said handing his jacket to Mark. "Where's mine?" Mark asked looking around. "It's cold outside, your leather jacket won't do you good," Haechan answered as Mark helped himself inside of the warm fabric, the familiar smell of his close friend penetrating his nose. </p><p>Mark definitely liked the fact that he's got all of Haechan's attention now. He loved the way the younger was taking care of him and he adored the fact that Haechan was paying attention to a lot of the small details. Mark smiled at how Haechan was busy zipping up the jacket for him and he felt bad at the same time for not letting him know about what truly happened to him. Mark had to gulp down the truth until it was the right time to talk about it. All what Mark wanted to do at that moment was to grab the younger boy by the shoulder, pull him into a tight hug and him that both of them will be Ok. </p><p>"Let's go!" Haechan's voice interrupted Mark's train of thoughts and the elder blinked twice before nodding his head following Haechan's steps outside. </p><p>                                                                                                                               *****</p><p>Haechan helped Mark in the backseat of the car before sliding in next to him placing his backpack on his lap. "Severance Hospital" Haechan smiled at the driver once he closed the door and the taxi driver nodded in response. "Would you like me to stop at the main entrance or the emergency section?" The driver asked glancing at the rearview mirror. "Main entrance will be fine!" Haechan politely answered looking at Mark who was fidgeting in his seat "Even though you look more like someone who needs to be in the emergency room right now" Haechan commented in a lower voice, grabbing the hoodie that is stuck in the back of the jacket pulling it out. "I'm fine!" Mark whispered not having enough energy to argue as he was focused to find the most comfortable seating position. </p><p>After a 20 minutes drive, they finally arrived. "Jaehyun hyung is waiting!" Haechan pointed at his cousin from the window who was busy talking to someone else. Haechan texted Jaehyun two minutes before they made it to the hospital which explains why Jaehyun was outside waiting with a wheelchair prepared. "Hyung!" Haechan called out and Jaehyun immediately turned around searching for the source of the voice till he spotted his younger cousin waving his hand. Jaehyun and his friend made their way towards the taxi: The taxi driver was kind enough to wait for them. "Alright Mark, let's get you out of there," Jaehyun said smiling at Mark, dimples appearing instantly. "Hi, Jaehyun hyung!" Mark weakly said pulling his hand out for Jaehyun to grab as he slowly tried scooting himself to the door. "Gotchu!" Jaehyun said literally lifting Mark up into his arm turning around to place him down gently on the wheelchair. </p><p>Mark lifted his head up to meet the new face that seemed familiar to him. "Hey, Mark! I'm Taeil and I work with Jaehyun! I'm an X-ray technician so, I'll be taking care of you!" Taeil introduced himself with a smile and Mark's eyes suddenly got bigger as he remembered where he had seen the familiar face. Mark immediately looked at Haechan who was fixing his backpack's stripes, lips parted as if he wanted to say something urgently but Haechan was too busy to notice that. "Let's get going!" He heard Jaehyun say as he started pushing Mark forward to the hospital's entrance. </p><p>"You'll be with Taeil for now! Once he's done I'll come and take care of the rest Ok?" Jaehyun asked giving a small tap on Mark's shoulder who nodded with a small smile. "I'll be with Jaehyun hyung waiting for you!" Haechan waved his small hand at Mark who suddenly looked very gloomy. Taeil pushed the chair away and Haechan tilted his head to the side assuming that the ride made Mark feel tired. </p><p>"Hungry?" Haechan heard Jaehyun ask. "SO HUNGRY!" The younger answered grabbing his stomach. Jaehyun chuckled and pointed with his head towards the canteen's direction. Haechan jumped the first two steps and then trailed behind his cousin. </p><p> </p><p>                                                                                                                                  *****</p><p> </p><p>Once seated, Haechan smiled big at the amount of food placed in front of him and started to dig into his rice. "Glad to see you're happier today!" Jaehyun exclaimed folding his arms on the table watching the younger enjoying his food. "Food can make anyone happy!" Haechan said lifting his spoon up in the air to enforce his imposed argument. "Sure!" Jaehyun nodded "Just chew slower!" Jaehyun added because Haechan was eating at a fast pace. </p><p>"So?" The elder asked trying to catch the younger's eyes. Haechan lifted his head up to look at his cousin making a sulking face "Can't we talk about this after I finish eating?" Haechan whined, "Your switch of tone itself is giving me indigestion!" Haechan added and Jaehyun rolled his eyes at how over-dramatic his cousin can be. Jaehyun pushed his chair back standing up "Sprite? Coke?" He asked "Strawberry milk!" Haechan answered, Jaehyun shook his head slightly chuckling, walking towards the vending machine. </p><p>"Ahhhh, I'm full!" Haechan sighed out leaning back in his chair giving his tummy small taps. "Taeil is almost done with Mark, have to go next so would you like to brief me about the situation now?" Jaehyun asked putting his phone down after checking the message he received from Taeil. Haechan fixed his posture on the chair, sitting down properly, and started tapping with his fingertips on the table. Jaehyun noticed and he knew that his cousin starts fidgeting around whenever he feels nervous so he decided to lead the conversation "Did you talk about it?" Jaehyun asked first and Haechan shook his head from side to side making a quick eye-contact with his cousin before looking down. "You couldn't bring it up?" Jaehyun asked again which made Haechan bit his bottom lip "I couldn't ask about anything, he said he doesn't remember a thing after that he made it to my front door" Haehcan sighed looking down. "That's possible!" Jaehyun confirmed, "So you're just gonna ignore it?" The elder continued. "Guess I have no other choice?" Haechan replied giving a small shrug with his shoulders. "Wanna come and check his results?" Jaehyun asked nodding in his office's direction. "Sure thing!" Haechan said lifting up his backpack from the side of the table following his cousin's steps. </p><p> </p><p>                                                                                                                               *****</p><p> </p><p>"Ankle is obviously sprained, a hip contusion is an obvious reason behind the discoloration of his skin around his pelvic. He's lucky it's not broken but, I can say it's severely bruised and won't fully heal until four weeks from now" Taeil pursed his lips pointing at the X-ray pictures he got in front of him on the led wall. "The nurse got the cut on his forehead stitched, It was deep but other than that, everything is fine!" Taeil finished giving Jaehyun a reassuring smile. "Thanks, buddy!" Jaehyun said, "I'll finish up with him!" Jaehyun continued giving Taeil the green light to leave after he's done his part. "Alright then! It was good to see you again, Haechan!" Taeil said giving Haechan a small squeeze on his shoulder earning a small smile from Haechan in return. "Get well soon, Mark!" Taeil said waving his hand at Mark who was sitting on the hospital bed at the end of the room. Mark bowed his head down, his facial expression not changing at all as he stared at Taeil's back until he left closing the door behind him. </p><p>"Well well well!" Jaehyun said grabbing the nearest chair next to the bed Mark was sitting on to make himself comfortable on it. "Johnny hyung is coming back tomorrow!" Mark started "And you want me to talk with one of my plastic surgeon friends so that they can work some of their magic on your face, therefore, Johnny wouldn't notice what happened?" Jaehyun asked grabbing the bandage taking a closer look at Mark's ankle. "Very funny!" Haechan said rolling his eyes in which he earned a glare from his cousin which sent Haechan quiet again. </p><p>"No, I-" Mark said blinking a few times trying to find words at the back of his head "I just- like... like, could you like... not tell him until he lands at least" Mark suddenly switched to English finding it more comfortable to ask a favor in that language. Jaehyun spent a decent amount of time in the U.S studying there and Mark was so thankful that he could communicate with him in both languages."I don't want to hear the nagging both on the phone and in real life..."Mark finished looking at Jaehyun who was focused on wrapping the bandage tightly around Mark's ankle. "We've got a deal if you promise this won't happen again!" Jaehyun said finishing up. "I can't believe you're the one who got himself in trouble and Donghyuck is actually out of this!" Jaehyun exclaimed putting one hand on his hip looking at Mark. "I'm still here, and I totally understood that!" Haechan said shaking his head from side to side. Mark chuckled lightly "I promise hyung! Thanks a lot!" He said. </p><p> </p><p>                                                                                                                            *****</p><p> </p><p>Once they were back home, Haechan helped Mark get out of his shoes and jacket. "Where do you wanna rest? My room or living room?" Haechan asked dropping his backpack on the floor and replacing it with Mark's arm instead. "Where will you be?" Mark asked in a tired voice and Haechan secretly smiled at how clingy Mark is being. "I suggest you go to my room and take a nap, I'll make you something to eat and wake you up! You must be starving!" Haechan said leading the way to his room."You're lucky today is Sunday! Do you think you can go to school tomorrow?" Haechan asked as Mark slowly sat down on Haechan's bed, eyes half-open "Depends!" Mark answered. Haechan dropped the bag of medicines Jaehyun handed him on his nightstand. "Do you wanna change into something more comfortable?" Haechan asked making his way to his closet "I think you left your sweatpants somewhere here last time!" Haechan said flipping through his clothes "Got them!" Haechan exclaimed, popping his head out of the closet only to find Mark crawled into a ball on the bed already fallen asleep. </p><p>"Later then!" Haechan smiled dropping the pants on his desk making his way back to his bed. He took a minute to examine Mark's tired face, he wanted to hold his cheeks and give them light brushes with his fingers so bad but he had to hold himself back. He grabbed the folded blanket at the end of the bed and tacked Mark under it. He switched the lights off leaving the door ajar and made his way to the kitchen to make something for the elder to eat. </p><p> </p><p>TBC.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter 3 is actually ready to be added but, it might take me some love and a comment or two from you guys to feel confident enough to share it &gt;&lt; </p><p>Thanks for those who liked the first chapter! It made me smile BIG!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning!</p><p>Mention of blood and use of bad language. If you feel uncomfortable with these warnings, do not read please! Stay safe and hope you enjoy. </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Haechan was humming a song in the kitchen when he heard the loud thud coming from his room. He placed the bowl he was about to fill with soup down and rushed to his room. Once he opened the door, Mark's eyes locked with Haechan's worried eyes. "Wanted to grab the glass of water but shouldn't have trusted my strength!" Mark apologetically bit his bottom lip looking at the mess he made on the ground.</p><p> </p><p>"Did you get hurt?" Haechan asked softly taking careful steps towards the shattered glass. "No, I'm fine!" Mark shook his head trying to lift himself up to a sitting position only to be pushed down again by the shoulder with Haechan pressing gently on it. "Stay still!" Haechan ordered and Mark leaned his head back onto the pillow letting out a sigh, closing his eyes in the process. Haechan bent down on one knee picking up the big pieces of glass with his bare hands so he can collect the others with a broom.  Haechan made sure to bring a new glass of water on his way back to his room to finish cleaning. "Here!" Haechan smiled handing the glass to Mark who lifted himself up supporting his weight on one elbow and extending his other arm to grab the glass. Haechan noticed the frowns Mark's face made every time he moved and he realized that his body won't heal anytime soon.</p><p>"Hungry?" Haechan asked taking the glass back from Mark's hand, putting it on the nightstand. "Starving!" Mark corrected pursing his lips together into a thin line. "Want me to bring food here or wanna walk to the kitchen?" Haechan asked taking a seat next to Mark on the bed who threw his arm on top of his closed eyes. Haechan took the chance to take a good look at Mark's beautiful shaped lips. Something about the bruise in the corner of his lips made Haechan feel more attracted to them. Haechan closed his eyes for a mere second when he remembered the feeling Mark gave him when he kissed him. "I think I should walk a bit! I can't be in bed the whole day and school is tomorrow so I better get used to this!" Mark answered extending his hand for Haechan to help him up. </p><p>Haechan frowned feeling a bit upset that Mark's voice interrupted his flashbacks, but he guessed he's more confused by what Mark just said more. "What makes you think you're going to school tomorrow?" Haechan asked wrapping his arm around Mark's waist to help him up. Mark's arm lazily found its way around Haechan's shoulder. Haechan's question remained unanswered as both walked to the kitchen.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Smells amazing in here!" Mark commented taking a seat on one of the chairs around the small dining table placed by the wall. Soon, a bowl of very good looking soup was placed in front of him along with a plate of salad and chicken breast. "Wow!" Mark's eyes widened at the sight of the appetizing food in front of him. "Gotta leave Johnny and move here as soon as I can!" Mark said grabbing his spoon. Haechan placed a bowl of soup for himself as well sitting in front of Mark. "You always say that whenever I cook! Makes me wonder if we're friends just because of the food I make and careful it's H-" Haechan was cut off by the loud noise the spoon made after that it was thrown back into the bowl by Mark who burned his tongue with the hot broth and was fanning his open mouth with one hand and reaching for the glass of water with the other. "HOT..."Haechan finished as he watched Mark gulping down his water shaking his head from side to side. </p><p>"Wanna go back to bed?" Haechan asked when he noticed that Mark was getting uncomfortable on the chair as he kept his hand on his hip clutching his body a little bit to the front. All it took was a small nod from Mark for Haechan to stand up and help the elder back to his room. "This will help ease the pain for the night, Jaehyun said!" Haechan explained placing a small pill on Mark's palm who cracked it open and placed it into his mouth swallowing it with water handed from Haechan.</p><p>"You make an amazing nurse!" Mark agreed with himself by nodding his head in agreement with pursed lips. Haechan watched him for a second looking not very much entertained. "Give me a break and change into those then sleep!" Haechan rolled his eyes placing the pair of sweatpants on the elder's laps making his way out of the room. "Where are you going?" He heard Mark ask "I'm not reading you a bed-time story if that's your next request!"Haechan blurted out waving one hand in the air as he closed the door behind him. Mark smiled a bit, a sad smile, knowing that Haechan is not gonna start acting all normal again as long as he didn't hear the full story of what happened.</p><p>Haechan was definitely still upset. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em> The next day.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Are you sane?" Haechan hissed under his breath with folded arms. "I have to go Hyuck!" Mark repeated that sentence for the fourth time during the last five minutes. "You obviously DON'T! I need to get you back to the hospital to check on your head cause it seems that there's a malfunctioning in your brain" Haechan mocked leaning his shoulder to the side on the door frame watching as Mark was struggling to put on a shirt. Haechan wasn't going to help Mark. Haechan was waiting and praying that Mark's stubbornness has an expiration date, and in case it does, hopefully, it's today. </p><p>"Finals are around the corner!" Mark mumbled shoving his arm through the sleeves and groaning at every movement his body made. "I can take notes and the boys can come over later so we can review the lessons together!" Haechan suggested watching as Mark buried his face into his hands grabbing on his front bangs not so gently letting out a deep sigh. "Sorry if my voice is giving you a headache Mark, do whatever suits you!" Haechan said slamming the door behind him closed. "Hyuck!" Mark snapped up regretting the sudden movement he made and fell back onto the bed, the sound of the slammed door echoing in his ears. "This is gonna be a long day!" Mark mumbled to himself switching his attention to his phone that started ringing. "Great!" Mark said rolling his eyes pressing the green button. </p><p>- "Hello?" Mark answered.</p><p>- "What's Haechan's front door password?" The person on the other line asked. </p><p>- "Are you here?" Mark asked brows knitted, standing up grabbing his backpack from the floor along with him. </p><p>- "Numbers Mark!" The person on the other line ordered. </p><p>- "Johnny 10 minutes and I'll be there!" Mark said hanging up the phone shoving it into his pocket.</p><p>"Jeez.." Mark sighed walking out of Haechan's room making his way to the corridor where Haechan was sitting on the step tying his shoes. Haechan grabbed Mark's shoes loosening the laces for easier access to his feet. Mark couldn't help but smile at Haechan's back thinking of how the younger boy is still helping him even though he's angry at him.</p><p>Once Haechan finished tying Mark's shoelaces -making sure to leave the laces very loose on the shoe of his sprained foot- he grabbed his own backpack swinging it onto his back and made his way out of the door leaving Mark behind. Mark cursed under his breath limping his way behind Haechan who was already in front of the elevator waiting for it. "If ignoring me is making you feel better then go ahead Haechan, ignore me all you want!" Mark said in a low voice which sent goosebumps down Haechan's skin who was thankful that the elevator's door opened at the right time so he could step away from the older boy. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Is there a single color that is not painted on your face, Mark Lee?" Johnny stepped forward hovering over his cousin lifting his face up to get a better look at it. Mark winced under his touch squinting his eyes shut. "Good morning John!" Mark said opening his eyes to meet his glaring cousin which made Mark dart his eyes away quickly. Johnny let go of Mark's face for a second to raise his brow at Haechan the next second "I don't know! I wasn't there, I have no answers that could satisfy you!" Haechan quickly blurted out hands up in the air.</p><p>"And you're going to school in this state? Are you that eager or do you still have unfinished business to take care of?" Johnny snatched Mark's backpack away from him which made Mark lose his balance for a second. Johnny opened the backseat door throwing the backpack inside nodding his head to the empty seat's direction "Get in! You're going home."Johnny announced in a low voice.</p><p>Mark sucked on his lower lip for a good second before stepping forward to the car only to push one knee into the car's seat stretching his arm to get his backpack back, pocking his head out of the car again. Mark threw his backpack on his back and glanced at Johnny who looked like he's so close to start yelling at his stubbornness. "Not today Johnny, I'm sorry." Mark finished turning on his heel towards the school's direction taking small steps forward.</p><p>Johnny was fast to grab Mark by the wrist before he could walk away any further. Mark turned around eyes searching for Donghyuck who was standing a few meters away, lips parted face cannot be read then back to Johnny who was glaring down at him. "Johnny please listen to me!" Mark started almost whispering. "Donghyuck is gonna get hurt if I'm not at school today and if that happens, I won't be able to forgive myself for not being there. So please! Let me go this time and I'll fill you with every detail later!" Mark finished, eyes having a sparkle of hope in them while they looked at Johnny.</p><p>"What in the world is going on Mark!" Johnny hissed his breath getting heavier by the time. "I promise I'll be fine! I just need to be there for him today more than any other day. I'll tell you everything you need to know after school." Mark whispered and Johnny closed his eyes for a mere second cursing under his breath "Fine Mark! Get in!" Johnny said loosening his grip around Mark's wrist. Mark sighed out of relief as a small smile made its way to his face. Haechan just rolled his eyes. </p><p>"I don't know what kind of spell he cast on you but I had faith in you Johnny to knock some sense into his empty brain! All in vain..." Haechan shook his head as he made his way to the car earning a "Shut up!" from both Mark and his cousin. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"YOU'RE HERE!" Jaemin instantly shouted at the sight of Mark dragging his feet slowly with his hand grabbing on Haechan's elbow. "Jeez!" Renjun quickly covered his ears at the sudden scream. "I'm as surprised as you are Jaemin!" Haechan said shaking his head from side to side at Mark. "You shouldn't be here Mark!" Renjun said clicking his tongue. "Here we go again!" Mark said starting to feel annoyed. "I'm here already so let's get over it?" Mark finished fixing his backpack that felt like it was about to slip.</p><p>"Care to share who are the people that did this to both of you?" Haechan said looking between the three of his friends that were standing in front of him exchanging weird looks. Haechan heard a solid "No!" coming from both Mark and Renjun but a very clear and honest "Yes!" coming from Jaemin who earned instant death glares from Mark and Renjun. Haechan chuckled "Jaem boy! You're so bad at lying and I just love you for your honesty!" Haechan smiled throwing one arm around Jaemin's shoulder who gulped. "Names?" Haechan whispered in Jaemin's ear who was fortunately saved by the bell ring indicating class is starting. "Later?" Jaemin said running to his first period grabbing Renjun along with him. Haechan glared at Mark who gave him a small shrug grabbing on the strap hanging from Haechan's backpack. "Am I your walk dog now?" Haechan asked looking down at Mark's fingers curled around the fabric. "We're gonna be late!" Mark said which made Haechan dart his eyes away to their class's direction as he started walking. Mark had a small smile on his lips. Something about angry Haechan was cute to him.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The first period felt endless to Mark who was shifting on his seat letting out small groans in the process earning glances now and then from Haechan who was sitting next to him trying to take in as much as he can from the lesson. Haechan's hand made its way to Mark's back tapping on it gently to give him some comfort as Mark had his cheek pressed flat on his desk. Haechan could see a small smile form in the corner of Mark's lips and he couldn't help but sigh and smile as well. </p><p>Luckily their teacher doesn't care much about classroom rules because by the end of the lesson Mark drifted to dreamland. "Mark, we gotta grab our books for the next period!" Haechan gently whispered giving Mark's shoulder a small squeeze. Mark's head finally lifted up, vision a bit blurry from the sudden action. He squinted his eyes rubbing them afterward letting out a small yawn. "Remind me why are you here again? Oh yeah, finals! Finals are around the corner! Are you gonna take the exams in your dreams as wellMark? Make sure you go through the 'How to snore less in class' Chapter when you're revising!" Haechan sarcastically said grabbing his backpack making his way to the door. "I thought we were over that!" Mark said only for himself to hear as he trailed behind the younger boy. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They were three meters away from their lockers when both of their phones received a notification at the same time. Haechan didn't care and continued walking while Mark on the other side froze in place and couldn't take a step further as if his legs felt like they weighed a ton. Mark's mouth gaped as he watched the video that was sent not only to him but to the entire school. Students had their phones in their hands and the talks and whispers were getting louder and louder as their eyes were fixed on the main topic; Haechan. Haechan on the other hand was standing in front of his locker starring at the word "Fag" written all over it. </p><p> </p><p>"Let's get out of here!" Mark said in a low voice, clear enough to Haechan's ears but Haechan seemed so out of it. He grabbed Haechan's hand leading him away from the crowd that was getting bigger by the time. They were only two steps away from Haechan's locker when Mark was stopped by Xioajun blocking their way. "Don't be boring Maark!" Xiaojun said dragging Mark's name almost pouting at him. "Let us enjoy some drama." Xiaojun chuckled eyes darting at Haechan who was protectively kept behind Mark with eyes glued to the floor. </p><p> </p><p>"Watch it!" Mark said through gritted teeth his free hand making its way to Xiojun's collar grabbing tight on it. "Son of a bitch!" Mark hissed grabbing Xiaojun closer by his collar almost bumping their foreheads. "Easy, angry boyfriend," Xiaojun whispered with a smile that made Mark feel sick in the stomach. Mark felt so empty the next second at the sudden loss of touch when Haechan's hand was pulled out of his grip. He watched the younger boy taking fast steps out of the school's doors. The next thing he knows was Renjun gluing Xiaojun into the nearest locker hands gripping tight on his neck, with Jaemin trying to pull away his friend preventing him from killing the boy in front of everyone. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Mark's eyes were searching everywhere around him as his feet dragged him to the direction he last had seen Haechan run to. With a heavy heart, Mark continued to walk mouth cursing under every heavy breath coming out of his body. Phone glued to his ear ringing endlessly trying to reach his best friend. He shoved his phone back into his pocket out of frustration, coming to a stop when he was out of breath and almost hopeless. He decided that his last hope was to walk through the park near their neighborhood hoping that he would find a trace of the boy. </p><p>Mark started walking slowly, scrunching his nose up at the cold that was hitting his cheeks. His body was definitely feeling warm from all the walking he did. He thought that the blood rushing through his veins out of worry is doing a great job keeping his body temperature at a high level. Mark halted squinting his eyes at a very familiar silhouette sitting under a tree at the very end of the abandoned part of the park. Not so many people were walking there as they usually prefer to walk by the side of the lake. Mark approached the curled body carefully. He immediately noticed the familiar backpack and his chest relaxed knowing that he had found him. </p><p>Haechan was hugging his knees, head resting in between. Mark noticed that the boy was shaking lightly and he knew that Haechan was crying silently. The rustle sounds made by the fallen leaves that Mark carefully stepped on is what made Haechan jolt his head up. As much as Mark was happy to find him, he wasn't very much happy with the sight of a broken Haechan in front of him. His face was wet covered with tears. Eyes looked glossier than ever. Cheeks tinted red. Haechan shoved his head back between his legs when he acknowledged Mark's presence probably out of embarrassment. </p><p>Mark bent down on one knee to have a closer look at the crying mess in front of him. He put his hand carefully on his hair to caress it earning a small sob from the younger boy. "I need you to look at me," Mark said in a soothing voice as he continued to pat the back of his head gently. Haechan shrugged his shoulders his body slightly shaking in the process. "Donghyunk!" Mark whispered fingers making their way to the younger boy's chin. Mark knows that using Haechan's real name might have the right effect in this situation. "Look at me!" Mark said fingertips gently caressing the side of Haechan's face, lightly putting pressure under the soft skin to lift his face up hoping that the boy doesn't resist. Haechan didn't. </p><p> </p><p>Their eyes finally met again and Mark took the chance to cup his small face between his hands before that Haechan has the chance to hide it again. "Hey, you!" Mark whispered giving the boy a sweet smile. Mark could see the sadness in Haechan's eyes that keep looking at Mark asking for comfort. Mark knows Haechan more than he knows himself and Mark felt more than glad that Haechan isn't running away from him at this exact moment and is actually seeking help because he normally wouldn't. "It's cold! Why don't we go back home first, hum?" Mark thought that was the best thing to do for now. Mark was being careful with his words, his thumbs caressing gently the skin under Haechan's eyes pushing away the warm salty liquid rolling down his beautiful eyes and won't stop for many reasons. </p><p> </p><p>"It's gonna be Ok!" Mark said leaning in to give Haechan a small kiss on his forehead. Mark's lips felt so warm against Haechan skin. The younger boy immediately relaxed into the touch enjoying the tingling feeling that the kiss is sending through his body. Mark doesn't like skinship. Mark usually hates it when Haechan hugs him and tends to shove him away immediately when he tries to. Haechan is definitely wondering what are the reasons behind the sudden sweet touches and kisses he's receiving now. Haechan wouldn't complain about it. He wanted to ask for more. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm here yeah?" Mark whispered against the boy's forehead holding his face up to catch his eyes again. Haechan looked up at Mark, mouth slightly parted as small sobs kept shaking his body now and then. "Home?" Mark asked smiling at him. Haechan loved the fact that Mark was calling his apartment home. It made him feel warm. It gave him the feeling of a cozy Christmas eve and hot chocolates next to a chimney. Haechan proceeded to nod his head between Mark's hands feeling totally hypnotized by the gentle eyes looking at him. Mark nodded back at him. </p><p> </p><p>Everything felt very normal to Mark for a second. He recalled himself running in different directions trying to find his best friend who kept running away. He remembered bumping into a few people and apologizing when his eyes were occupied looking everywhere trying to catch a glimpse of Haechan. He remembered that he was breathing in a very normal way as he continued to walk further and further in hopes that he is heading in the right direction.</p><p> </p><p>Mark chuckled looking down at Haechan who in return raised an eyebrow at him probably wondering about what suddenly seems so funny to Mark. Mark totally forgot about his fresh wounds. The newly bruised skin under his shirt and his sprained foot. All of the pain was numbed away by how worried he was about Haechan. It's when Mark couldn't hold his balance and fell on both knees, Haechan's eyebrows started to furrow. Mark's gentle eyes started to look very heavy and out of focus. He tried to blink a few times before he started coughing hard. </p><p> </p><p>Haechan's hands cupped Mark's face out of worry. Haechan couldn't help but gasp when he realized that the boy's skin was burning. Haechan noticed the drops of sweat forming on his temples. "Fuck, Mark!" Haechan cursed jumping on his knees wiping his fresh tears on the back of his sleeve before diverting all of his attention to Mark whose eyes are completely shut now. Haechan's hands gripped his shoulders trying to shake him slightly. "Hey! Stay with me!" Haechan's voice came out weak and shaky. "Mark!" Haechan whispered "Open your eyes please!" Haechan's muffled sobs were finally able to set themselves free. "Don't cry." Mark's voice came out forced followed by a cough. Haechan noticed the blood at the corner of Mark's mouth and his eyes suddenly widened. "Call Johnny!" Mark whispered coughing some more on his sleeve leaving a stain of blood. Mark's body collapsed into Haechan's embrace the next second. He looked lifeless. </p><p> </p><p>TBC</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comment?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sleepy me was writing this chapter. Don't mind the errors you'll come across please. I hope you won't find this chapter disappointing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"He wasn't coughing blood <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> relax. The cut on his lip reopened and was bleeding again." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> explained rubbing small circles on the back of his little cousin who had his face buried deep in his chest. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> pulled away to look up at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> with worried eyes. "Why did he faint?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked blinking slowly probably of how tired he feels. "The boy is supposed to be in bed taking his pain killers <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>, not running around like a crazy dog." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> started looking down at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> who didn't look amused. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> sighed "His oxygen level dropped, it's very normal that he fainted. His body is exhausted." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said pursing his lips together as he gave his little cousin gentle taps on his bouncy hair. "When will he wake up?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked eyes making their way to the glass window of the room where Mark's bed was at the hospital. "Soon baby, go talk to him maybe he'll hear you?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> suggested with a smile on his face. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> blinked again looking hesitant for a second. He then nodded detaching himself from his cousin's embrace so he could go check on Mark. </p><p><br/>
With <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> gone, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun's</span> chest lifted up releasing a deep sigh as he looked at Johnny who was shaking his head from side to side sighing as well. "Have an idea about what happened?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked as he walked to the water dispenser to fill a cup for both of them. "Not a single one." Johnny answered mouthing a 'thank you' to <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> before gulping down the refreshing water. "I think all of us need to sit and talk about this once Mark is awake and back at home," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said rubbing his temple. "You think?" Johnny replied breathing out like a fuming dragon. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
"Mark," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whispered, so afraid of the silence surrounding them in the room. He sniffled taking Mark's warm hand between his rubbing his thumb gently on the skin. "Stop sleeping. Wake up." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> continued to whisper looking at how peaceful Mark seemed to be in his sleep. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> fingers made their way to the strands of hair falling on Mark's forehead brushing them away so carefully. He looked down to have a better look at how beautiful Mark looks while sleeping, but was very surprised with a pair of eyes looking through his soul. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> gasped, air stuck in his throat for a second before he gulped it down.<br/>
"Hey, there!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> managed to breathe out. Mark closed his eyes again his fingers curling around <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hand that was still holding him. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> observed the reaction he was getting from Mark and smiled. "Keep your eyes on me, will you?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> voice was sweet but desperate. Mark lazily opened his eyes again following his friend's order. "Good boy," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> smiled at him petting his hair a little bit earning an annoyed groan from Mark which made <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> chuckle. "How are you feeling?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked intertwining his fingers with Mark scratching gently on his knuckles.</p><p><br/>
"I'm sorry, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>!" Mark's voice came out low, almost inaudible. "Hum?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> face came close to Mark's, his lips forming a small smile. "About?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked raising his eyebrows at the sleepy boy in front of him. "I couldn't stop the bullying" Mark's eyes looked more awake now but full of worry. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hand made its way to Mark's right cheek sitting there so carefully, fingertips brushing at the back of Mark's hair who let out a small breath at the touch. "You've got a cut on your lip, another on your forehead, a sprained leg, and," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hand moved from Mark's cheek to poke the side of Mark's torso. Mark winced at the touch squinting his eyes. "Your hipbone almost broke, not to count the other bruises scattered all over your body that won't heal anytime soon," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> sighed bringing back his hand to cup Mark's face again with an apologizing look at the slight pain he caused him. "And you're telling me you're sorry you couldn't do stop what?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked furrowing his brows gulping down whatever tears are trying to make their way out.</p><p><br/>
"You're hurting," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> continued, his thumb rubbing small circles under Mark's eye. "And I, now know that it is all because of me," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said sniffling and locking eyes with Mark who was trying to shake his head from side to side to assure him that none is his fault. "You took all these hits because you knew about it?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked with a tear escaping from his eye. Mark turned his head to the side to give <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> palm a small kiss making him smile a bit through his tears. "We'll talk when you stop crying first!" Mark said taking his hand out of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> only to press it against the boy's warm cheek, rubbing away the continuous tears. "You deserve an explanation <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>, but I also deserve one don't you think?" Mark tilted his head to the side, his fingertips finding their way to the curls on the back of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hair. "We all deserve an explanation, Mark." Johnny's voice came in too sudden that made <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> jump out of his chair wiping his tears away on the back of his sleeves. </p><p><br/>
"My shift is over, wanna talk us through this boys?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said taking off his white coat placing it on the back of a chair that he soon dragged closer to where <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was sitting. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> never left Mark's side. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> bit the inside of his cheek glancing at Mark who in return gave him the sweetest smile probably assuring him that everything will be fine. Johnny, on the other hand, took a seat at the edge of the bed where Mark was laying. "Whenever you're ready!" Johnny said giving his foot a small squeeze while nodding his head.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
"So, you went out clubbing," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> started pointing at Mark. "This <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span> guy came up to you and asked you where <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> at, "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> continued pointing at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> this time. "He then said he's got a present for him and showed you a video of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> making out with a guy?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> finished trying to rephrase what he just heard. Mark glanced up at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> who had his head down. His curly fringe covering his eyes slightly. Mark can sense how tense <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was feeling. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> fingers were curling themselves around one another on his laps.</p><p><br/>
"I asked him to delete it but he wouldn't and, it escalated when I dragged him outside to talk" Mark continued scratching the back of his neck. "I see what kind of talking you did out there," Johnny glared, making Mark bit his bottom lip feeling so little in front of him. "Now the video is circulating around the school?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked placing his hand on <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> lap hoping that he can get a word out of him. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> just nodded his head slightly, hands turning into small fists. </p><p><br/>
"Hey," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said squeezing <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> knee gently. "Heads up, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said the tone of his voice rising. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> pursed his lips tightly turning his head so slightly glancing from the side at his cousin. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> eyes were filled with emotions, unspoken ones. Emotions <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> couldn't put into words so they just dropped in form of tears onto his soft skin. "I know, it's unfair. You didn't ask to be outed in this way," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> started bringing his chair closer to his little cousin until their knees brushed together. "I know you must feel broken," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> continued cupping <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> face between his hands. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> eyes shut close as silent tears continued to roll down their way out of his eyes. "Do you know him? <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span>? Has he threatened you before?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> shook his head from side to side sniffling. "Do you have any idea about what his motive could be?" Johnny asked next. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> looked down shaking his head again. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> made sure the boy's head was held high. He lifted his face up, wiping <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> tears away. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> opened his eyes and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> smiled at him "It's gonna be alright!". </p><p><br/>
"John, can we have a talk before we take them home?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said nodded towards the door. He gave <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> head a small tap before he walked out.<br/>
"Hey buddy," Johnny said ruffling <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hair. "You're stronger than this, we'll take care of it so don't worry" Johnny added squeezing <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> shoulder before following behind <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span>. </p><p><br/>
<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> pulled on his sleeve wiping his tears away on the fabric when he felt something poking his knee. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> opened one eye glancing down at the finger that kept tapping on his jeans. He swallowed down his emotions and looked at Mark who smiled at him "Stop it already" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said sniffling, pushing Mark's hand away. "I will when you stop crying," Mark said reaching out to pull on <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> sweatshirt. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> buried his face into his hands resting his elbows on his legs. "I feel..." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> muffled voice made its way from between the gaps of his fingers. "Embarrassed." He finished, chest shaking when he took in a deep breath. </p><p><br/>
<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was so deep in thought. He felt protected with his hands covering his face. He was thinking about how his life made a sudden turn he wasn't prepared for. If he knew, he would've stopped this car from crashing in this way. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> wasn't given the chance to step on the brakes. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was shoved into a crime scene, fingers pointing at him, accusations welcoming him as their new loyal owner. He was unfairly accused of a heinous act. A crime he didn't choose to be part of. A crime he didn't know why he was even part of. For a criminal, to be judged is the hardest part of the whole process and it just happens that <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> hated being judged the most. He hated that Mark was a witness as well. He hated everything about the whole situation and he just wanted to disappear into thin air and never come back.</p><p> <br/>
"Hey," Mark's soft whisper pulled <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> out of the dark hole he chose to bury himself deep in it. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Mark said reaching out for <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hand to pull it away from his face. "I'm sorry, Mark! I need some air" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said pushing his chair back, snatching his padded jacket as he hurried out of the room. Mark's hand was left hanging into the air, eyebrows furrowed, the room suddenly silent and very dark as the one that lit it with his presence suddenly disappeared. </p><p><br/>
"Where did he go?" Johnny's head peeked from behind the door, face full of curiosity. "Fresh air," Mark sighed in response, eyes on the empty chair that was occupied by the person he treasures the most. "Take Mark home, I'll follow him closely" Mark heard <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> tell Johnny from behind the door. Mark felt relieved that <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> was going to keep <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> safe. </p><p><br/>
Mark hated the fact that he knew all of this would happen. He hated more the fact that he couldn't prevent this from happening. He was wondering if he's the one who actually made everything worse by getting into that fight with <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span>. Mark was not to blame, he had a short temper. He tried to get some answers out of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xioajun</span> before throwing a punch at his smirking face. He wanted to understand where does that video come from. Why was <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span> trying to provoke them. What did <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> do wrong for <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span> to expose him in that dirty way. Most importantly, why didn't <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> ever tell Mark about that kiss.</p><p><br/>
"Let's get you home," Johnny snapped his finger in front of Mark's face who blinked twice before nodding. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> closed his eyes tight when the lightning bolt struck right above his head followed by the loud noise the thunder made. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> liked rainy days, he liked the cozy feeling cold weather brings, He liked the sound of water droplets knocking on his window at two in the morning. He just didn't like them pouring down on his head, making him shiver like he was at that moment. The rain started falling heavily and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> smiled under it thinking that the whole universe must be against him today. </p><p><br/>
"<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>, get in here!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> shouted out rolling down the window of his car staring at his cousin standing there getting drenched. "Quick!" he added. <br/>
"Can't I have a moment alone?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> blurted out closing the door of the passenger seat. "You can just choose a drier place for it" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> sarcastically said which made <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> roll his eyes. "Buckle up!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> nodded at the seatbelt and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> grabbed it wrapping it around his body. Once it clicked in, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> gave it a small smile and drove off. "Looks like a storm is coming, wanna head to my place?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked glancing quickly at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> who had his head pressed against the cold glass watching his warm breath blur out the window. "Thanks, I'll be just fine in mine" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> answered. "Are you very determined to be alone? You can be alone in my room if you wish, and I'll be there in case you need me." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> suggested hoping that his little cousin will just agree to go back home with him. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> wanted to keep <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> close to him because he knew the boy would want to talk about what happened when he manages to stop his inner fight with himself first. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> wanted to be there all ears like he usually is. "I'll come around <span class="scayt-misspell-word">hyung</span>, I promise," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said, voice soft and tired. "Just not tonight, please" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> sighed closing his eyes. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> nodded to himself focusing his eyes on the road not wanting to push the younger one anymore. </p><p>Once he made it inside of his apartment. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> dropped his backpack on the floor taking his shoes off next. He glanced at the flickering light coming out of his living-room. He thought he probably forgot the T.V on until he gasped when he got startled by a wrapped Mark inside of a blanket on the sofa. "Mark, what are you doing here?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked eyes wide staring at his friend rubbing his eyes with his fists. "You didn't answer my texts and I couldn't reach you" Mark simply answered. "My phone's dead" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> answered taking off his jacket hanging it on the door's frame so that it would dry. "You're all wet, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>" Mark whispered audible enough for both of them to hear. "I know, I'm going to take a shower," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said stepping out of the room quickly. Mark wondered if this is <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> new favorite thing to do; running away from him. </p><p>Mark waited and waited, thumb pressing on the remote control endlessly switching channels on the T.V wondering how far the list can go. His ears perked up when he heard the door of the bathroom open. Soon, a very sweet scent covered the whole apartment. Mark smiled because he knows that <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> went with his green apple shower gel today and not the vanilla one. Mark liked both scents on <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>, he always smelled sweet anyway. He smelled like home to Mark. "You should go home," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> voice suddenly cut Mark's thoughts short. Mark looked at the boy who stood by the door ruffling his wet hair into a dry towel. "Do you have anything to eat?" Mark asked giving his tummy a few taps. </p><p><br/>
"I'll make us something, you must be hungry as well," Mark said limping his way past <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> who kept glaring at him. "Sandwiches?" Mark smiled shoving his head into the fridge. "Someone needs to do some grocery shopping." Mark said pulling a few vegetables out of the fridge setting them on the island right next to him before glancing back at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> "It's almost empty," Mark said pointing at the shelves inside of the fridge. "Stop!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whispered eyes dropping on the floor, jaw clenched. "Hum?" Mark hummed frowning. "I said, stop!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> voice came out louder this time but very forced. Mark closed the door of the fridge eyes darting at how <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> grip was very tight on the towel hanging from his hand. </p><p><br/>
<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was standing there, vision blurred out from the tears threatening to fall down at any moment. He hated himself the most today because of how much he cried. He hated himself more for looking this vulnerable and weak in front of Mark. He hated that he felt naked under his eyes as if someone undressed him from all of his dignity and dumped it in the depth of the sea where <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> can never reach to pull it back up. Mark was hovering over him in a minute. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> can feel the heat deriving from Mark's body and it made him tense. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> breath was unsteady, his nostrils shaking so lightly every time he exhaled. "Stop what?" Mark gently asked, fingertips brushing against the skin of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> <span class="scayt-misspell-word">beautifıl</span> jawline. Mark carefully lifted his face up trying to catch the boy's eyes. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> obeyed but never looking up, his eyes were tracing the veins on Mark's palm wondering if he could find an escape from this distressing reality if he just followed those lines. </p><p><br/>
"I don't like the pity in your eyes," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said, finally lifting his long eyelashes staring right into Mark's eyes. Mark can see how hurt <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was. "You don't have to be here Mark, you didn't even have to take all of the hit for me," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> continued swallowing down the lump in his throat as his voice was finding it difficult to make its way out his throat. "I don't deserve it," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whispered, looking down again. Mark's free hand joined the other one wrapping around <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> soft cheek. "Why do you think so?" Mark asked, his thumbs rubbing circles under <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> glossy eyes. "Aren't you disgusted by what you saw?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> bit his lower lip holding his tears back. "You mean in the video?" Mark asked tilting his head pursing his lips together waiting for a confirmation from the younger boy who was having a hard time avoiding Mark's eyes especially that he was trapped under his touches. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> nodded slightly. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>," Mark called and the younger boy raised his eyebrows immediately upon hearing the nickname. "Disgusted? never." Mark started, his thumb moving from <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> cheek to his lower lip brushing against it gently. "Jealous?" Mark said pressing so lightly on <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> lip. "Definitely." The younger boy parted his lips unconsciously at the sudden intimate touch he was receiving from his friend. </p><p><br/>
"What are you talking about?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> frowned very deep blinking his eyes continuously. "Here's a reminder, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>" Mark whispered, pulling <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> face close to his before leaning down brushing his own lips against the younger boy who seemed to gasp an amount of air at the sudden touch but for certain reasons, he felt breathless. </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> mind went blank for a second only to seem to be functioning again the next second except that, the only thing his mind can think of is the night drunk Mark leaned in the same way to kiss him.</p><p>The thing is that Mark is sober now. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Was that kiss intended?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I didn't proof read this, so sorry if it's too redundant or boring :(</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Haechan walked a few steps back, eyes wide and mouth gaped until his back hit the wall behind him. He was trapped under Mark's embrace, knees going weak at the sudden touches. Haechan could feel his body temperature rising up. He felt absent-minded for a second. His blood was running faster in his veins spreading the flow of emotions that hit him evenly in his whole body. The silence around them settled very comfortably in the room allowing Haechan to hear his own heart beating hard and fast. It wasn't long until Mark pulled away, face still close, eyes softly looking at the beautiful pair of lips in front of him. </p><p>Mark locked eyes with Haechan next and the boy looked pale as if someone sucked his soul out of him. "You said," Haechan blurted out voice coming out shaky and nervous. "That I don't remember?" Mark finished his sentence for him tilting his head slightly to the side giving his own lips a small lick. Haechan nodded. "Did I startle you?" Mark asked his right hand making its way to rest on Haechan's nape. "Umh," Haechan swallowed, head-nodding "Twice," he added. "It won't startle you again if I ask for permission this time, mhm?" Mark asked stepping even closer to Haechan who fixed his poster and had his back flat against the wall. </p><p>"Can I kiss you?" Mark asked his face an inch away from Haechan's. Mark's voice sounded like a melody to Haechan's ears at that moment and the younger boy closed his eyes to enjoy the sweet tune that managed to make the hair on the back of his neck raise. Haechan nodded in approval none of what's happening in this hallway seeming to feel real to him. Mark's fingers lightly scratched on the back of Haechan's neck, his thumb pressed under his ear. The elder smiled at the beauty between his hands before he leaned down brushing his nose so lightly against Haechan's. With a small push on the back of Haechan's neck, the younger boy jolted up in an upright position their lips pressing against each other for the second time that night. </p><p>With a tilt of his head, Mark found the perfect position to capture Haechan's lower lip and nibble on. </p><p>He would've been a liar if he said he didn't have endless dreams about this moment. Mark's always wondered how would Haechan's lips feel if he kissed him. He hated it the most when Haechan buys a watermelon flavored popsicle, he always wanted Haechan to finish his small dessert so that he can pull him into a kiss and lick up whatever sweetness left on his lips. He always imagined that the boy would taste as sweet as he smells. Haechan has a sweet tooth and Mark knows exactly what are Haechan's favorite sweets. Little did Haechan know that Mark's favorite was him. Both of them had so many feelings towards each other, but none of them ever thought there would be a day when they could actually talk it all out. Haechan's little secret was revealed and Mark took that as a sign for him to stop being a coward and give it a shot. </p><p>There they were, both of them totally drown in each other. Mark took Haechan's bottom lip between his teeth, his tongue slightly brushing against it. The boy let a small moan escape his mouth. Haechan's eyes fluttered open at the small sound he just produced pulling away with red cheeks. Mark chuckled ruffling his hair "Thirsty much?" Mark asked teasing the younger boy who covered his face with both of his hands. "Oh my God, Mark" Haechan said fingers grabbing on his bangs, leg kicking in the air. Mark grabbed Haechan's wrists pulling his hands away from his face as he laughed at how shy Haechan was acting. The boy's cheeks were burning, the color spreading to his nose when Mark stared down at him. </p><p>"Help me take a shower?" Mark asked giving him a small smile as he pulled his wrists down to wrap them around his own waist. Haechan was pulled by force closer to Mark again; nothing to complain about though. "Are we going to act like none of this happened?" Haechan asked looking up at his friend who was towering over him. "Just keep in mind that there's nothing to be embarrassed about for now," Mark started brushing a few strands of hair away from his friend's face. "And nothing about you is disgusting, Hyuck" Mark added giving him the sweetest smile ever. Haechan pursed his lips together eyes getting shinier by the second. He knew he would cry if Mark's going to say anything else as sweet as his last sentences. This time, he would shed tears of joy at least. "I need you to step your cheesy ass away from me so I can take all this in," Haechan said pulling his arms away from Mark. "I really need help with that shower though," Mark said pouting. Haechan rolled his eyes groaning "Fine," Mark smiled leaning down to place a playful kiss on Haechan's cheek. "Then, we can talk about it all, yeah?" Haechan started to feel nervous all of a sudden again as he nodded helping Mark to the bathroom. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><br/>
"Hands up," Haechan ordered Mark who was sitting on the toilet seat following the younger's orders. "Ok, not too high," Haechan said when Mark winced from the sharp pain that struck his side. Haechan grabbed the hem of the shirt Mark was wearing pulling it up so carefully above his head. Mark breathed out when the piece of clothing left his body. Haechan's eyes trailed down Mark's abdomen, examining the bruises scattered on his skin to finally land on the side of his hip. Mark was busy unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. Once done, he looked up again with his curious eyes as if he was waiting for the second command of this showering mission. Haechan gave him a smile understanding that the boy was clueless and waiting for a sort of lead. Haechan kneeled down taking off his socks first, throwing the pair in the laundry basket that was sitting behind him. </p><p>"Did they kick you in the stomach?" Haechan asked, fingers curling around the edge of the fabric pulling it down. Haechan wished that Mark didn't wear skinny jeans at that moment. Jaehyun mentioned that Mark shouldn't be sitting down for a long time as it doesn't help to put pressure on his hip bone. His skinny jeans were not making this process any faster. "Is that how you got those bruises?" Haechan asked again, head nodding at the direction of the colorful contusions as he pulled off the first leg. Mark on the other hand slipped down a little bit in his heat, stretching his body up, pushing his legs forward trying to make it easier for Haechan to take his jeans off faster; which Haechan actually did. "I guess so," Mark sighed throwing his head backward closing his eyes trying to find comfort in the darkness. Haechan was working on unwrapping the bandage wrapped around his foot, memorizing the pattern so that he can wrap w new one again later. </p><p>Once he was done, he stood up stretching a hand out for Mark who gladly took it helping him on his feet. "You guess so?" Haechan repeated Mark's answer his tone indicating that Mark has given him an unsatisfying response. "What if they did?" Mark asked the boy who was busy getting the water to the right temperature. He thought Mark can handle some hot water for tonight as it might help soothe everything down so he made sure that the water running would be a bit warmer than usual. Haechan glanced back at Mark then back to the shower "It's ready," he said stepping back for Mark to step in. "You said I deserve an explanation" Haechan murmured wondering if Mark can hear him under the pouring water. "Stop worrying," Mark said giving Haechan's nose a small kiss before going under the water again. The younger boy felt his heart skip a beat and he wondered if he actually fell asleep at the hospital and haven't woken up yet as all of this seemed like a dream to him. </p><p>He watched the elder boy close his eyes as he was getting all wet. Water spreading very quickly through his body relaxing every muscle in it. He then rubbed the water away from his face to look at Haechan who was glancing down at his feet with the bottle of shampoo ready in his hand for whenever Mark would ask for it. "Don't put too much pressure on your sprained ankle" Haechan order and Mark obeyed by lifting his foot up resting its weight on his toes instead "Careful," Haechan's arm reached to hold on Mark's when he thought that he might slip, now that he was almost standing on one leg. "Get in here and hold me still if you're that worried, Lee Haechan" Mark blurted out which made Haechan's cheek turn pink. Haechan was hoping that Mark would think that the color that just spread on his face was only because the bathroom was getting warmer by the second. "I just took a shower," Haechan replied folding his sleeves up, squeezing out a good amount of shampoo on his palm. </p><p>"Turn around," Haechan said pointing at the wall behind Mark. "Can you lean your head back just a little bit?" Haechan asked and Mark did as he said. Soon, Haechan's fingers brushed through Mark's hair giving his scalp gentle pressure here and there until the top of his head was full of foam, some small bubbles escaping from between Haechan's fingers. Mark parted his lips closing his eyes at the relaxing touches he was receiving from his friend. The rubs and scratches Haechan was giving him sent him to the nearest land where the sun never sets, the sky has different colors and the fields are filled with tulips. "All clean." Haechan smiled at his fine work after brushing Mark's hair all the way back. "Can you finish up by yourself?" Haechan asked when Mark turned around to meet his eyes again. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute" Mark smiled at him. Haechan made sure to hang a few clean towels over the curtains for Mark to use. He also brought him sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt to change into. </p><p><br/>
Haechan made sure that the heater in his room was on so that Mark wouldn't catch a cold after that hot shower. He sat on his bed checking his notifications. His notifications bar was filled with missed calls and text messages in their chat group from both Jaemin and Renjun. He took a few minutes to text back his worried friends. He mentioned that he and Mark won't attend classes tomorrow and that they can come over after their last periods to talk about what happened and maybe study for what they're going to miss. </p><p>The door creaked open and Haechan's head lifted up instantly locking his phone setting it on the nightstand. He tapped on the sheet next to him inviting Mark to have a seat beside him. The elder limped his way to the bed with a towel hanging around his neck, hair dripping wet. Haechan placed that towel back on his head once he sat right next to him trying to dry off the water. Haechan folded his knee on the bed sitting in a way he can have a better look at the wet puppy in front of him rubbing off the excess water from his hair. Mark had his eyes looking down at Haechan's legs. One of the things he liked about Haechan. He had the most beautiful legs with the most beautiful bronzed skin. "Are you cold?" Haechan asked looking at the way Mark shoved his hands under his laps. Mark peeked through his messy bangs from all the ruffling Haechan was doing with the piece of cloth. "No," Mark answered gnawing on his lip "I didn't know where to put them," he shyly glanced down at his busy lap that had Haechan's folded leg on it. </p><p>Haechan didn't realize that he was occupying the boy's lap. He was busy focusing on getting the last droplets of water off of Mark's hair without realizing that he kept pushing himself closer in the process. Haechan's lips parted looking at his shy friend wondering if that is really the same boy that pinned him against the wall and planted the sweetest kiss on his mouth. Haechan smiled dropping the towel next to him giving Mark's bangs a ruffle before placing his fingers around Mark's wrists pulling his arms from under his laps, "You can put them here," Haechan's voice came out soft as he placed Mark's hands on each side of his hips. Haechan smiled looking up at his friend who was totally lost in the moment. </p><p>"I always thought you'd freak out and run away" Haechan suddenly said and Mark frowned at the sudden confession "You're not going to run away, are you?" Haechan asked eyes blinking innocently, ears eager to hear the answer. "Never," Mark smiled curling his fingers around the fabric of Haechan's shirt gripping on it assuring the boy that he's right there and won't be going anywhere. "Why haven't you ever tell me?" Mark asked heart is feeling at ease cause he finally got to ask this question. "I would ask you the same question, Mark" Haechan blurted out a small chuckled coming out of his mouth which made Mark laugh as well, both falling into a silence full of tension after that. "I haven't because I've never had the courage to," Mark pursed his lips into a sad smile his right hand rubbing circles on Haechan's back who immediately relaxed. "I was also scared that my stupid feelings could ruin our friendship frienship." Mark added earning a small nod from Haechan.</p><p>"Did you just confess that you have feelings for me?" Haechan asked and Mark's hand suddenly stopped moving his eyes blinking rapidly realizing that he actually did. Haechan chuckled at him leaning in to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. Mark would've normally dodged that kiss but he gets to sit there and enjoy it now "Are we ruining our beautiful friendship right now?" the younger boy asked his eyes looking genuinely concerned. Mark's arms wrapped around his body this time pulling him into a warm hug. Haechan fits perfectly well into his arms, it's like they've always been the two missing puzzle pieces hiding under the sofa waiting to be found and put together. Haechan's chin rested comfortably on Mark's shoulders, his small fists gripping on the fabric that was covering Mark's body. "I don't think we are, Hyuck" Mark whispered gently tapping on the younger's back. "If anything, we're just making it stronger" Mark added closing his eyes at the warm heat Haechan's body was emitting. "What are we going to do?" Haechan asked burying his nose onto Mark's shoulder who continued to rub his back with comforting circles. "We'll take it slow from here," Mark said "This is new for both of us, let's give us time, we'll figure it out" </p><p>Mark was right, it's not like Haechan was expecting Mark to ask him to be his boyfriend or anything. Haechan was happy with the fact that both of their hearts opened to each other and that they're both starting a new chapter in their friendship with new feelings. It all turned upside down in a blink of an eye. Haechan's crush on his best friend developed in the most hurtful yet beautiful way. It was a struggle for Haechan to mute his feelings when they were busy occupying both his heart and mind with all sorts of thoughts. He spent a long time convincing himself that he's not attracted to Mark is that way and that he's just confused because he truly loves him as a friend and admires him in many good ways. Not until the day Mark announced that he's got a date with a girl after their lessons so he can't hang out in their usual spot. </p><p>Haechan sat with the rest of his friends that night sulking, buried under the waves of thoughts that keep hitting him in every spot in his brain, going higher and higher as if he was having a dangerous storm of anger in his head. He wanted to swim to the shore, get out of the deep water and enjoy the rest of the night with the good company of his friends but, he never found his way out. He ended up drowning in more tears confessing the feelings he has bolted up for his friend to his cousin who was all ears. Haechan was entirely unaware that, that same night, his friend was trying to keep his mind busy because thinking about Haechan had become a daily activity that was added to Mark's planner without any permission. There he was with a random girl who kept going on and on about her likes and dislikes. His ears refused to listen to what her favorite color is and what her favorite food is. All that Mark knew is that Haechan likes oreo so much and Mark was trying to think about what was so special about those burnt cookies that made Haechan's eyes glim whenever Mark buys him a packet.</p><p><br/>
"Can we not give each other time tonight?" Haechan asked wrapping his arms tighter around Mark's chest face nuzzling into Mark's bicep. "What do you mean?" Mark asked looking at the snuggling boy who finally managed to pull himself away from his friend's embrace. "Can we start tomorrow?" Haechan looked at Mark with pouty lips, shiny eyes. "Hum?" Mark chuckled trying to decode what his friend was referring to. "Can I still kiss you tonight? We can start figuring out what to do with us tomorrow" Haechan clarified sending goosebumps all over Mark's body. "I kissed you thrice, it's only fair if you do the same, Hyuck" Mark said pulling the younger's legs to wrap them around his waist. </p><p>Haechan was practically sitting on his lap, arms around Mark's neck looking down at him. Mark is a few inches taller than Haechan, having to look up at Haechan was all new to him and he definitely enjoyed the view. The boy was breathtaking, absolutely beautiful and Mark was having a hard time controlling his breath. He felt Haechan's fingers slip through his hair grazing very softly on his scalp. Mark waited patiently with a soft smile on his face. He had his arm on Haechan's back supporting him. He gave him a few rubs on his back which made Haechan feel like he had been granted permission to do it. He leaned down pressing his lips very lightly against Mark, breath warm and shaky. Mark smiled at the cute contact watching as Haechan closed his eyes with a frown on his eyebrows. </p><p>Mark pulled away so slightly resting his forehead on Haechan's who still had his eyes closed probably thinking that he messed up and Mark's about to tell him "Forget it!". "Don't be nervous," Mark whispered and Haechan blinked looking at the pair of lips that were waiting for his second attempt. He swallowed, leaning down again to press a gentle kiss against Mark's lips. It was sweet, but Mark was not having it, he wanted more of the boy sitting on top of him. Mark's hand made its way to the back of Haechan's neck pulling him closer. Once their lips were pressed harder against each other, Mark felt more satisfaction. Mark knew that he needed to do something for Haechan to relax, as the younger felt tense between his arms and very insecure about his moves. Mark darted his tongue out licking on Haechan's upper lips. The younger parted his lips at the sudden contact and Mark took the chance to suck on Haechan's lower lip nibbling on it, pulling away for a second testing the waters. </p><p>He felt Haechan breathe out heavy against his mouth taking his time to calm his nerves. Haechan suddenly tilted his head to the side leaning in to grab Mark's lower lip in return, sucking and licking on it so gently. The boy has finally responded and Mark just sat there letting him do whatever pleases him. Haechan's kiss was clumsy and cute. Everything was gentle and sweet until Haechan decided to slip his tongue past Mark's lips whose eyes widened in shock. Haechan gripped Mark's shirt as his tongue traveled into Mark's mouth getting a good taste of him. Haechan could taste mint and he figured it must be from the toothpaste sitting in his bathroom. Mark was getting a caramel taste from Haechan and he thought that the boy must've had a caramel candy when he was waiting for him to come out of the shower. </p><p>Mark's hands made their way to rest on Haechan's hips this time, his fingers slipping underneath the fabric of his shirt. Mark's hand was cold that it sent shivers all across Haechan's body which made him pull away for a second but Mark didn't like the lost of contact. He inhaled grabbing Haechan's lips kissing him endlessly and so hard all of a sudden. Haechan's skin felt like it was burning with Mark's fingertips holding on his hips. Mark soon pushed Haechan on his back, his knees on both sides of his waist. Haechan gasped in the process his head hitting the pillow on the bed, eyes looking directly into Mark's who smirked for a second before grabbing Haechan's right wrist pressing it next to his head on the bed attacking his exposed neck next. </p><p>Haechan's eyes shut close when Mark's lips landed on his jawline first. His toes curled and the fire in the pit of his stomach is becoming wild. Mark trailed a few kisses on his nape before pressing a soft one on the corner of his mouth gnawing gently on Haechan's lower lip that was staring to feel numb. Mark's fingers trailed from Haechan's hip to his stomach so slowly which made Haechan groan low into the kiss in which Mark swallowed down very gracefully, arching his back and grabbing on Mark's hair who sucked harder on his lips before pulling away to have a look at Haechan. Haechan was a panting mess, chest heavy, breathing up and down, eyes closed as he tried to focus on calming down, lips red and bruised. </p><p>"We gotta stop here, pretty boy," Mark whispered against his mouth giving him a small peck. Haechan opened his eyes to look straight into Mark's as he relaxed his grip on his hair dropping his arm on his side. "Oh my God, lay down" Haechan suddenly said pushing Mark on the bed next to him who blinked all confused from the sudden attack. "Are you alright?" Haechan asked pulling his shirt up to check his bruises which made Mark laugh. "I'm fine, c'mere," Mark said laying down on his back arms up in the air waiting for Haechan to hug him. "No, I have to fix your bandage and fix us something to eat as well," Haechan said making his way to his drawers to grab the new bandage Jaehyun gave him. Mark watched him go through his stuff with the biggest smile on his face. </p><p><br/>
It felt like a nightmare for both of them when they had to hide their feelings from each other. A nightmare interrupted beautifully.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Honestly, this could be the end of the story. I could continue if you guys want to read about the development in their relationship? Leave a comment to let me know? </p><p>ps: Thank you for the kudos!!!!!! They make me happy :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun beamed through the curtains softly caressing Haechan’s cheek announcing that a new day has come. Haechan scrunched his nose up lazily opening his eyes. He blinked a few times, a small yawn escaping his mouth. His eyes got teary so he shut them tight, opening them again waiting for his vision to get clearer. Once it did, his brows furrowed looking at the empty sheets next to him. Memories of the night before appeared unannounced in Haechan’s brain and the boy removed his blanket in a swift move sitting on the bed looking around the room. </p><p>He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly. A trace of Mark maybe? Something that proves that Mark was actually there last night. Something that explains the tingling feeling on his lips. What Haechan was looking for the most was hope. A side of him was hoping that what happened before the sun found its way to the sky was not a dream, and the other side of him was thinking that if what happened was in fact real, then he hopes that the consequences are not too harsh for him to handle. He truly hoped that Mark didn’t really run away with a heart full of regrets.</p><p>“Hey,” the familiar voice interrupted his train of thoughts, and Haechan’s brain found peace again when the train halted. He didn’t realize that his brain was getting too noisy that his ears started to hurt as well. </p><p>“Are you ok?” Mark asked placing a plate he came in with on the desk, approaching the boy who finally looked at him with despair. Mark always thought that bed hair Haechan was a sight to enjoy. His hair was poking in all directions, each and every strand of hair is having its own show, very inviting for Mark to watch. </p><p>Mark smiled at the beautiful mess, putting some of his hair down with a gentle strokes of his finger as he sat in front of him on the bed.</p><p>“I thought you left,” Haechan breathed out, his voice sounding low and sleepy. Mark’s heart squeezed at the words that he just heard. Haechan looked so worried, genuinely worried. He had just woken up and for certain reasons, it seemed like he woke up from his worst nightmares. </p><p>“Oh no,” Mark whispered when a tear escaped the younger boy’s eye. “Look! I’m right here, Hyuck.” Mark made sure he kept his voice as low as the boy’s, talking at the same pace because it seemed to Mark that Haechan’s world was running very slow right now that it was hard for the boy to process things properly. “Why would I leave you, Hyuck?” Mark asked grabbing Haechan’s face with both of his hands to place a soft kiss on his forehead. </p><p>“You know, I’ve been trying to stop you from crying but,” Mark started looking at the tears that kept running down Haechan’s face, “I think it’s better if I just let you let it all out, hum?” Mark smiled at his friend who sniffled nodding his head in response. </p><p>The boy had a lot bottled up and it was only wise of Mark to think that he should give him a chance to empty his glass. If they wanted to start fresh, they needed Haechan’s heart to feel more at ease. “C’mere!” Mark breathed out pulling Haechan into his arms. The younger one buried his face in the crook of his neck as he sobbed his pain away. </p><p>“It’s gonna be fine!” Mark said, his hand going up and down the boy’s spine giving him the right amount of comfort he needed. “You will be fine, Hyuck.” Marked added planting a small kiss in the back of his hair. “It must’ve been tough for you, little boy” Mark smiled thinking that Haechan would’ve normally hit him in the face with the closest pillow when he uses that nickname. Instead, Haechan had his fingers busy wrapping into small fists around Mark’s shirt as his chest was shaking from choking on his own breath. </p><p>It felt like his feelings were having a marathon rushing out of his body in a form of endless sobs. But, the more they broke out the more he felt better. “I am never leaving you, Hyuck,” Mark whispered in his ear. “What is happening between us is beautiful to me,” he continued to whisper nuzzling his nose in Haechan’s hair to plant more kisses there. </p><p>“I grew up with you, you were the one and only to me since we were kids,” Mark smiled at all the memories from his childhood. “I don’t know when nor how you got me all hooked like this, but it’s truly the best thing that ever happened to me,” Mark confessed his fingers brushing lightly on the back of Haechan’s hair. </p><p>“Friends, best friends or more. I am all ready for it and I have no plans to run away from you.” Mark continued to whisper “The simplest reason being the fact that we share the same feelings for each other, don’t we?” Mark asked and the boy sniffled in his arms, breath landing very warm on Mark’s neck that was getting soaked by the time. He nodded, his hair tickling Mark’s skin who chuckled lightly. </p><p>“I need you to stop thinking weird of yourself, we’re on the same boat and if something ever happens, I would never let you drown by yourself.” Mark finished placing his chin on Haechan’s head as his hands continued to give small taps to his back.</p><p>Between the two of them, Mark was handling the whole situation better than the younger one was. After all, Haechan wasn’t the only one who carried the heaviness of keeping his feelings as a secret for years. Mark was doing the exact same but with a twist. The boy had more control over his emotions. 

Both thought there could never be a day where they can sit down and talk about what made each one of them fall in love with the other. When did it happen and how. The fact that a small incident had brought them to this point is making both of them feel overwhelmed, happy but also hurt at the unfairness of the situation. </p><p>They made a perfect match since they were kids. Haechan being the little monster he is, can never leave a place without a trail of troubles behind him. Mark being the protective best friend he is, it was always his duty to clean behind Haechan making sure that both have fun but stay safe in the process. Mark was the elder and he always felt like he was very much obliged to take care of his mischief-maker. They kept themselves on track and they loved how they grew up together to end up at that present moment they were in on Haechan’s bed.</p><p>Mark felt Haechan’s grip relax on his shirt. “Whenever you’re ready, Hyuck,” Mark said softly leaning his cheek on the boy’s head. A minute or two passed before that Haechan pulled away swallowing down the lump that occupied his throat since the morning. He wiped his tears away on the back of his sleeves. Mark looked at how soft his friend looked and he also felt bad that Haechan had to start his morning in such a terrible way. </p><p>“Feeling better?” Mark asked tilting his head to the side trying to catch Haechan’s eyes. “This is embarrassing, why do I keep crying” Haechan mumbled which made Mark laugh. “You can’t undo it though” Mark shrugged. “Where did you go anyway?” Haechan asked sniffling. “It’s one in the afternoon sleepyhead, you looked like you were in a deep sleep so I didn’t want to wake you up, and” Mark paused pointing at the plate he brought with him when he first entered the room. “I thought I’d make us something to eat in the meantime.” Mark grinned.</p><p>Haechan stretched his neck peeking onto the plate, raising his eyebrows at what was on it. “You murdered my poor eggs,” Haechan whined, legs down running to the plates. “They were sitting peacefully in the fridge, what have they done to you?” Haechan gasped being the dramatic boy he is as Mark rolled his eyes at him shaking his head from side to side not sure what he was expecting from preparing breakfast to Haechan. </p><p>The eggs pretty much looked like soldiers that have been through a tough war and died with pride at the end. Small pieces of bacon sat on the side and to complete the look, burnt slices of bread were thrown on the other side. Cooking was not on the list of skills that Mark had obviously. </p><p>"For God's sake, Haechan." Mark pursed his lips together scrunching his nose up making his way towards his friend who was poking the egg with a piece of bread as if he was performing CPR on the dead thing with the hope it'll come back to life. "I'm kidding," Haechan spoke turning around to Mark who was standing right behind him. "Thank you." He smiled wrapping his arms around Mark's waist for a warm hug. </p><p>Mark was never fond of skinship, hugging each other was never an occurring event in his life with Haechan. He had received a few hugs so far from the boy and it amazed Mark how perfectly well Haechan fits in his embrace. It felt good to have him that close. "I'll go wash up so we can eat," Haechan said running away to the bathroom leaving Mark with a big smile on his face. </p><p>They were busy stuffing their faces with the food that Haechan surprisingly enjoyed when the bell rang. Haechan looked up with a furrowed brows chewing faster on his food as he placed his fork down clapping his hands together to get rid of bread crumbs. </p><p>"I'll get it," Haechan said with a full mouth making his way out to the front door. Mark was kinda worried cause his friends already texted him saying that they'll come over in the evening and he was sure that Haechan wasn't expecting anyone. </p><p>He felt relief when he saw Johnny enter the room with Haechan strangled under his arm being dragged by the taller guy. "Came in to check if everything's fine!" Johnny smiled at Mark who took a sip of his orange juice watching Haechan trying to set himself free from Johnny's grip. "Everything is fine, you may leave now thanks for coming." Haechan blurted out, pushing Johnny out of the room but the strong-built boy wouldn't budge an inch which made Haechan sigh and give up. </p><p>"How are your bruises?" Johnny asked grabbing some leftover bread from Mark's plate to munch on it. "Better!" Mark smiled. "Haechan took good care of me yesterday," Mark winked which made Haechan choke on his water coughing endlessly. Mark laughed at the boy who was trying to catch his breathe glaring at him. </p><p>" What's going on here?" Johnny eyed both of them in curiosity and Haechan quickly raised both of his eyebrows as a warning sign. "Nothing much Johnny!" Mark answered, "My ankle is giving me a hard time, my side is not that bad anymore, I can actually sit down and raise my arm without feeling a stretch or pain in my muscles." Mark continued giving Johnny a thumbs up and Johnny nodded satisfied with all his answers. </p><p>"Jaehyun and I just separated ways, he went back to the hospital and I came here," Johnny said dusting his hands when he was finished with the piece of bread he was chewing on. "You were together?" Haechan asked, pouring a cup of juice for Johnny to drink which he accepted happily. "Mhm, we went to meet your high school's administration," Johnny announced earning a confused look from both Mark and Haechan. </p><p>"We talked to the counselor about the whole situation, surprisingly they were aware of it." Johnny started taking a sip of his juice. "They called in Xiaojun to question him and that brat made everything worse for himself." Johnny continued. "He said he has no answers to offer, he did share the video and they can do whatever they want with him. Following his confession, they decided to expel him." Johnny shrugged. "They wouldn't accept the medical certificate Jaehyun presented about your physical state. They said the fight happened outside of school, they can't take responsibility for that." Johnny nodded. lips pressed into a thin line watching the boys' reaction. </p><p>"Was it necessary, hyung?" Haechan was the first to ask. "Do you want us to sit here and watch that boy attend his lessons everyday without facing the consequences of his doings?" Johnny asked looking a bit disappointed. "He didn't only hurt mark physically but he also hurt you mentally Haechan, and I love you as much Jaehyun does to just let it slip like that." Johnny said giving a small smile to Haechan who sighed looking down at his fingers on his lap. </p><p>"You're missing school for a couple of days, don't let that affect your grades, please!" Johnny begged, looking at both of them. "We were about to go through some chapters before you came, Johnny," Mark said pointing his head to the directions of the notebooks piled up next to him. "They boys will come later to help as well," Mark said. </p><p>"Is there anything you need before I go?" Johnny asked standing tall eyes looking from Mark to Haechan. "Oreos." Haechan grinned and Johnny stood there dumbfounded which made Mark burst out laughing at his reaction. "Is there anything <em>important</em> you need before I go?" Johnny corrected himself while repeating his question. "It's still oreos for me," Haechan grinned again proving to Johnny that Oreos are actually important. </p><p>Johnny looked at Mark who shrugged "You asked for it!" Mark said and Johnny groaned saying he won't go all the way to the grocery store just to buy Oreos. </p><p>In fact, Johnny left and came back twenty minutes later with two bags full of snacks including three different types of Oreos before leaving the younger boys alone again. Haechan welcomed both bags with big hugs. Mark on the other side was trying to stop the excited boy from opening different bags of chips all at the same time. He failed miserably. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Jisung wanted to tag along," Jaemin said kicking his shoes off pointing at his brother behind him who was waving excitedly at Haechan who opened the door with a big smile. "We brought sandwiches, are you guys hungry?" Renjun asked popping out from behind Jisung, the boy was younger but taller and Renjun was a small guy with a big heart. </p><p>"Very!!" Haechan said stepping aside making way for his friends to walk past him. "Where's Mark?" Jaemin asked. "My room," Haechan answered helping Renjun with some bags on the kitchen island. </p><p>Jaemin disappeared from his sight followed by Jisung behind him. Haechan grabbed a plate for each emptying the food on each one of them whereas Renjun was busy filling a few cups with some coke. </p><p>"How are you?" Renjun asked setting the cups onto a plate so he can carry them all at once with him. "Your eye looks bad, Renjun," Haechan answered dodging his question. In fact, he was also worried about his friend. "It'll be fine in a couple of days, don't worry about it" Renjun smiled at him taking the plate to Haechan's room as Haechan followed behind arms and hands occupied with plates. </p><p>"Enough with the hugs give me a hand here!!" Haechan nagged at Jaemin and Jisung that were wrapped around Mark as if he was a bamboo tree that had been discovered by two koala bears. Jisung detached himself from Mark to grab a few plates from Haechan's arm handing them over to the boys. </p><p>"That's Mark's!" Jaemin said as Renjun and Mark switched plates. "And that's Haechan's!" Jaemin pointed "Extra cheese." He added as Jisung switched plates with Haechan who looked confused but amazed at how his friend can tell their sandwiches apart. </p><p>"How was the atmosphere at school?" Haechan asked setting his plate aside when he was done with it. "People got over it Haechannie. Guess they're more worried about exams." Jaemin smiled at him. "It was boring without you two" Renjun pouted and Haechan made a disgusted face shoving the boy's face away from him. </p><p>"Xiaojun wasn't there for the rest of the day as he was expelled. People said they deserve it so that's a good sign." Jaemin added handing his plate to Haechan to put it on top of his. </p><p>"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Renjun asked putting his own plate down as well, grabbing a tissue to wipe his mouth clean. </p><p>Haechan's face fell immediately as he glanced at Mark for a quick second before biting on his lip and look at his friends again who were anticipating an answer. "I don't want to talk about the video," Haechan said bitting the corner of his lower lip. "We can just start studying Haechan, don't feel forced to tell us anything," Renjun said giving Haechan's hand a small squeeze. </p><p>"I do want to confess that I might like boys more than I like girls though," Haechan said as the room went quiet. "I like boys, and girls are not anywhere on that list if that makes you feel any better." Jaemin blurted out suddenly making his brother choke beside him. </p><p>"Water!!" Renjun screamed tapping on Jisung's back as he was trying to inhale. Jaemin handed his dying brother a bottle of water to sip on. The boy finally remembered how to breathe properly again, he just kept looking at Jaemin in disbelief who grabbed his bottle of water back shoving it in his backpack. </p><p>"Hyung!" Jisung punched his arm and Jaemin shrugged as everyone else in the room laughed. "I am so sorry guys that you were hurt because of me." Haechan apologized eyes looked genuinely concerned. "We're not to here to hear apologies, Haechan." Renjun smiled. "We're here to help!" he added glancing at Jaemin who also smiled nodding. </p><p>"What would we do without you guys?" Mark asked scratching on the back of his neck. "Obviously nothing," Jaemin answered standing up to make his way to the desk. "Let's get some studying done, shall we?" He asked looking back at all of them. </p><p>The night went on and on with them arguing over a few topics, each one of them imposing his own opinion on the other and at the end, Jisung would yell loud so they would stop. They laugh it off and review their notes to decide who was actually right. </p><p>Jisung was on his phone playing video games the whole time. Haechan goes and cuddles with him on his bed when it's break time, some of them just walk around stretching their backs. </p><p>Mark was the happiest that he's got such good people around him.</p><p>"My brain can't take any of this anymore!" Mark sighed fingers brushing his hair back to reveal his beautiful forehead. The cut on his temple was in the process of healing, so was Renjun's. "It's getting late anyway, let's call it a night!" Jaemin said with a big yawn escaping his mouth. Renjun found the opportunity to slap Jaemin on the face with a pillow making everyone in the room laugh at the way Jaemin's head hit the wall behind him very hard at the sudden attack. "There goes all of the information he just stored in there," Jisung mocked his brother while Renjun apologized giving his friend's head kisses here and there. </p><p>They said their goodbyes before heading out leaving Haechan occupied with the cleaning in the room. Mark organized their books back on the shelf. Once Haechan was done with the dishes he went back to his room rubbing on his eyes. Mark was occupying the corner of his bed busy with his phone. </p><p>Haechan closed the door behind him turning the lights off. Mark's phone lit up the whole room instead and Haechan blindly walked to his bed to occupy the empty part of it. He went under his blanket looking up at Mark whose face looked even prettier with the light focused on him. </p><p>He looked like a beautiful moon surrounded by the darkness in the galaxy while the stars danced around him happily. Mark glanced down at Haechan who averted his eyes somewhere else very quickly. "Why were you staring at me like that?" Mark asked flipping himself on his stomach next to Haechan. </p><p>"I was just curious about what were you looking at on your phone," Haechan answered turning on his side to face Mark. Mark brushed his nose with Haechan closing his eyes to rest his forehead against the younger's. </p><p>"Was just scrolling through social media checking updates," Mark said almost whispering his breath tickling Haechan's lips. "Say, Haechannie!" Mark suddenly pulled away staring into Haechan's eyes who immediately gleamed at the nickname. "Mhm?" Haechan hummed. "I want to ask you a question," Mark said next and Haechan titled his head. "Shoot!" Haechan answered. </p><p>"It's Taeil, right?" Mark suddenly asked earning a frown from Haechan. "The guy in the video," Mark added.</p>
<hr/><p>TBC.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sleepy me wants to apologize for the errors that this chapter might contain.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mark contemplated a lot before he came to his abrupt conclusion. Given the fact that Mark had seen the video before the fight, the picture was stuck in his head. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span> wasn't expecting a violent reaction from Mark Lee who's known for his humble self. </p><p>Seeing <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> being kissed by someone else triggered something in the depth of him and his body responded with a punch landing on <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xioajun's</span> face before sending the phone flying. Mark's eyes went dark, pupils enlarged like a cat, chest heavy from all of the emotions taking over him. </p><p>Mark forgot that <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Xiaojun</span> was with his company and quickly realized his mistake when he was pushed down to the ground beaten to death. That night, nothing hurt him more than the fact that <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> lips were occupied by someone else. He did feel a sort of relief when his friends stepped in and when the kicks and punches lessened thanks to <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaemin</span> who got him covered under his embrace and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Renjun</span> who received a few punches for swearing at the boy in his native language probably threatening him as well. </p><p>Mark knew where to find the real relief though. It was where he also found comfort and warmth. It's where all his beautiful memories are. It wasn't in a magical land that was impossible to reach. Mark didn't have to sail to find it. He didn't have to wait till it comes to him either. His type of relief was right behind the door, he just needs to knock and he knows he'll be welcomed by it. </p><p>And behind <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> door was where his relief stood, and Mark went straight there to knock on the right door. He refused to close an eye that day without putting out the fire that was burning and going higher in his chest as the clocks continued to tick into the future. Nothing could calm his nerves down but the feeling of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> lips against his. Mark went for it without any second thoughts, leaving <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> lost in the unknown that night. <br/>
That explains the secret behind their first kiss. A kiss that was full of anger, disappointment, but also love. </p><p>He knew something felt off when he first encountered <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span> at the hospital. He might've been drunk that night but the video awakened his five senses and it turned out that Mark had a sixth one that was meant to protect <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>. When he first saw <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span>, the hair in the back of his neck stood sending vibrations through his body like the black flags on a cloudy day on a beach indicating that a storm is coming. </p><p>He knew the guy looked familiar and something about his familiarity was not very pleasant. Later on, when the video was sent to everyone. Mark had a better chance to look at it again and refresh his memory and that's when everything clicked. He was more than sure that the guy was <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span>. </p><p>"Was it?" Mark asked again looking at the spaced out boy laying beside him. Mark supported his weight on one elbow as his other hand traveled to <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> bangs pushing them away so he can get a better view of his eyes. </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> looked dazzled. The question threw him off and he looked like he was having a hard time climbing back to where he was. Mark gave his cheek a small pinch before smiling at him. "If you're not ready to share his identity, you don't have to" Mark whispered caressing his cheek softly. "No," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whispered back. "I mean, how did you..." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> continued to whisper blinking his eyes at Mark. "Figure it out?" Mark finished his question for him earning a small nod from <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>. "Are you confirming that it's actually him?" Mark asked raising his eyebrows anticipating the answer. </p><p>"It was <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span>, Mark" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> confessed with all honesty. "The guy spent an hour or so with me fixing my face for me, he was too close to me not to notice that he was the same guy in the video, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>," Mark answered fingers stroking <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> face up and down in a slow rhythm, it was probably intentional to let <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> know that it's fine to confront him with the truth and that he was there to listen. "You're quick-witted and I hate that about you" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> sighed closing his eyes. "Hey, look at me" Mark ordered and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> eyes blinked open again staring at Mark who now looked worried. "How did it happen?" He asked. </p><p>"Aren't you a curious cat tonight?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said pursing his lips into a straight line. "Fine, let's just sleep then" Mark rolled his eyes dropping himself on his stomach face buried into his arm. "Mark, don't," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said bringing himself close to the boy taking his hand between his gently rubbing circles on the back of it with his thumb. </p><p>"It was last summer, when you went back to Canada," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> started and Mark peeked at him with one eye. "It was boring without you, the boys were there but it wasn't the same without you," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> continued eyes staring at Mark's fingers that curled around his. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> noticed that I couldn't keep my mind off of you so he invited me to hang out with him and his friends in a summer house" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> blabbered and Mark's head jolted up suddenly. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> knows?" Mark asked and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> looked down nodding in response. </p><p>"He knows about the kiss?" Mark asked frowning deep. "No stupid! Can you stop thinking about the kiss for a moment, I will get to that in a second. He knows about my feelings towards you." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> breathed out, a faded peachy color settling down on his cheeks. Mark thought he looked the most beautiful when he blushes especially under the moonlight that was creeping inside of the room like a thief. A thief that was welcomed though, it helped lighten up the darkroom. </p><p>He also liked the way the younger still gets shy whenever he confesses that he has a crush on him again. Mark pulled <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hand to his mouth giving it a gentle kiss before smiling at him which made <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> smiled back. "It was even more boring at that party. It was full of interns and doctors. They were talking about their professional life so I slipped away to the bar to grab something to drink." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said leaning his head on the pillow bringing Mark's hand close to his cheek to cuddle it. </p><p>"That's when <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span> approached me, in a flirty way" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> narrated glancing up at Mark examining his face. He couldn't read him so he decided to continue. "We talked about random stuff as we continued to drink. He didn't know I came with <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> nor that I wasn't legal to drink." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> sighed burying his nose into Mark's knuckles. "He then leaned down to kiss me and I couldn't back off so I just sat there," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said closing his eyes. </p><p>"Hey," Mark called pulling his hands away from <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> only to put it under his chin lifting his face up. "Don't close your eyes, it makes me think you're trying to recall that kiss," Mark said voice sounding sad and insecure. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> looked up at him, then closed his eyes again "It's weird, Mark." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whispered "Cause, all I can think of is you kissing me." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> confided opening his eyes again to have a better look at the boy's reaction. Mark's mouth curled up on the side into a wide smile. "Can you stop looking at me like that and kiss me already?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked and Mark was under his service. </p><p>Mark's fingers quickly traveled from under his chin to the back of his neck grabbing on the pieces of hair there. Mark didn't waste a second and leaned down pulling <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> lip between his teeth gnawing on it. </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> didn't expect Mark to respond with a needy kiss. He thought he would just give him a small peck and move on but the boy was so immersed in his feelings that his teeth were speaking for him instead. </p><p>Mark tilted his head to the side attacking <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> upper lip next sucking hard on it, giving it small licks now and then with his warm tongue. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> placed his hand on Mark's chest giving him small taps when he felt his oxygen level was running low. Mark wouldn't pull away though. He pressed his lips harder against <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span>, his tongue sliding in between them when the younger tried to inhale. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> hand turned into a grip on Mark's shirt, his body heating up when Mark's own body lied down on top of his putting more pressure on his abdomen and lips. His other hand grabbed on the back of Mark's hair, nails slightly digging in there. He can feel how demanding Mark was and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was starting to taste something new on the boy's lips. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was tasting bitterness and he knew it was jealousy. </p><p>Mark pulled away when <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> arched his neck to the back begging for air. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> kept his head pressed back onto the pillow chest heavy and breathe unsteady as his hand slipped down Mark's back. Mark blew air onto <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> wet lips which also slipped through his mouth and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> swallowed it down happily. <br/>
<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> closed his eyes at the cold breeze still panting. "I got carried away, I'm sorry" Mark apologized giving <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> chin a kiss. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> chuckled unwrapping his fingers from Mark's shirt to place them on his cheek. "Are you gonna keep kissing me until I catch more feelings? Is that your plan?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked. "Is it working?" Mark whispered turning his face to the side to give <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> palm a kiss. </p><p>"My plan is to erase all memories you got from that kiss with <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span>" Mark confessed looking down at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whose breathe looks calmer. "You shouldn't have left, Canada boy" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> tease "It could've been you that night," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said and Mark's face dropped into something <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> couldn't read. </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> brushed Mark's cheek with the back of his fingers "But it's good that it wasn't you that night cause I hated that kiss" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> smiled at him. "He took me by surprise and he assumed I was fine with it and that's what I hate more about it," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> confessed brushing his fingers through Mark's dark locks. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> doesn't know about it though! <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Taeil</span> apologized when he realized I was his cousin as well, and we agreed that it was the alcohol's mistake." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> explained. "So stop thinking hard about it?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said pulling himself up to plant a kiss on Mark's nose. "I'll try!" Mark whispered brushing his thumb against <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> lips. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> did the same in return being very careful about the bruise in the corner of Mark's mouth. </p><p>"Doesn't it hurt when you kiss me?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked out of curiosity, his thumb pressing gently against the dry blood. Mark smiled against his touch shaking his head from side to side. "Nothing feels bad when I'm kissing you, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>." Mark disagreed with <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> thoughts which made <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> push him away from him. "Give me some time to get used to your cheesiness, oh my God" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> rolled his eyes at the boy who started giggling non-stop beside him.<br/>
<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> chuckled hugging the blanket close to his body as he lied on his side watching Mark's side profile. </p><p>It wouldn't possible to stare at his face without falling in love with him. "Are we friends with benefits now?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> suddenly asked and Mark frowned deep at him. The boy looked too cute all cuddled up to be asking such a naughty question. "We're friends, with feelings" Mark corrected, giving <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> forehead a kiss. "Nothing has changed, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>!" Mark stated "We're Mark and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> with a small twist," He said brushing his nose against <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span>. "Will we ever tell our friends?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked. "We will," Mark smiled "Once we figure how we're gonna work this out, we will" Mark added pressing a sweet kiss on <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> cheek who wrapped his arms around Mark's neck pulling himself close to him. </p><p>"Let's get some sleep," Mark invited the younger boy closer to his chest pulling the blanket on both of them. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> face rested on the same pillow as Mark, both staring into each other's eyes with so much affection and admiration. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> leaned in pressing a soft kiss onto Mark's lips before closing his eyes, hiding his face in his neck. Mark smiled his hand tapping gently on the younger's back until both of them fell asleep in each other's embrace. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Mark groaned in his sleep at the continuous ringing of the bell. He nudged <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> with his elbow in his sleep hoping that the boy would wake up to answer the door. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> just hugged the blanket closer, his hand holding Mark's elbow in its place. <br/>
"<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>," Mark's voice came out low and husky. "Mhm," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> groaned with a deep frown. "Stop pretending like there isn't someone who's trying to break your bell right now" Mark complained, his hand traveling to <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> shoulder shaking him awake. </p><p>"Ugh!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> growled pulling the blanket aggressively away from him which made Mark shiver at the cold breeze that suddenly hit his body. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> slipped his feet into his slippers stomping his way out of the room. Mark chuckled in his sleep cause he can clearly imagine <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> annoyed face even with closed eyes. <br/>
A few seconds later walks a cheerful Johnny with <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> strangled under his arm and Mark swears that the days are repeating themselves or something cause that is one of an accurate <span class="scayt-misspell-word">déja-Vu</span>. </p><p>"Let go!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whined, his small fists laying on Johnny's chest. "You're still sleeping?" Johnny asked pointing at the obvious which was Mark looking half-awake in bed. "Has this become your daily routine? I strongly advise you to change it" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> cried out when Johnny loosened his grip around him and the younger struggled to keep his balance for a second from the sudden release. </p><p>"It's boring without Mark! I thought we could eat breakfast together" Johnny grinned and Mark laughed covering his face with the blanket when <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> glared at him. "Mark has finals, you don't! So go eat your breakfast with <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> or something!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> whined more shaking his body in the process. The nagging was suddenly interrupted by the doorbell ringing again. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> frowned deep looking back and forth between Mark and Johnny before he retreated to go and check who's here this early in the morning. </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> walked in with a big smile on his face followed by <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> who was rolling his eyes at his cousin and Johnny's cheerful screams when they saw each other. Mark was a giggling mess and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> gave up and smiled at the reunion. </p><p>"Can you at least make us breakfast if you're going to bust in like this?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked. "Ok ok, we will! Go wash up, you look like a mess." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said pushing <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> out of the room to reduce the nagging. "How are you feeling, Mark?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked approaching the boy laying on the bed. "Better, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">hyung</span> thanks!" Mark grinned. "Can I do a quick check-up?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked taking a seat next to Mark on the bed who nodded continuously. "I'll go see what we can have for breakfast then," Johnny said making his way out of the room. </p><p>"Does it hurt when I press here?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked pressing two fingers on Mark's side who winced immediately. "Guess it does!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> answered judging on the reaction he received "A little bit!" Mark confirmed. "Your foot is less swollen, that's good" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> smiled dimples flashing. "I guess I'm recovering well!" Mark scrunched his nose up. "You are!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> confirmed before pulling the blanket up covering Mark with it again. "I never got the chance to thank you, Mark." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> started. </p><p>"Hum? For what?" Mark asked confused. "For trying to protect <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> mentioned. "Who wouldn't protect <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>." Mark smiled "I'll always do, so don't thank me for that!" Mark said pulling himself up into a sitting position. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> scratched the back of his neck nodding. "How's he feeling about it all?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked "I didn't have the chance to talk to him yet and I'm glad you're keeping him company, Mark. He might not tell you but I'm sure that you standing by his side right now means a lot to him" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> added. </p><p>"I know what you mean, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">hyung</span>," Mark said rubbing his nose biting his lip nervously. "I also like him," Mark confessed and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> went quiet for a moment not wanting to say anything wrong. "I like him in a way a simple friend shouldn't" Mark added confirming <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun's</span> thoughts. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> gasped blinking at Mark who was starting to blush. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> most probably is waiting to tell you about it all so I won't ruin it for him," Mark said hiding his smile behind his fist. </p><p>"Explains why you're in his bed for two days now" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> blurted out and Mark's cheeks went fuming red. "No!" Mark waved with his hands as if waving them that fast would help to fan away the thoughts dancing around <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun's</span> mind. "We're using the bed cause there's nowhere else to sleep!" Mark squealed voice cracking while <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> laughed. "Yeah, alright!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> waved him off standing up. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyung</span>!" Mark called out to stop him before leaving and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> turned around with a smile on his face. "Johnny doesn't know though!" Mark said. "I got you!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> nodded leaving the room. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> pulled out the curtains wrapped in his bathrobe to meet with a messy-haired Mark staring at himself in the mirror. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> gasped in surprise "I remember when I was living peacefully by myself in this apartment, those were good days." <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said tightening the fabric around his waist. "You leave the door open, it's an open invitation for me" Mark shrugged ruffling <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> wet hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead his nostrils welcoming the sweet scent emitting from the boys body. </p><p>"Are you going to shower?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked patting some of Mark's hair down. The height difference between the two was perfect for Mark cause he loved starring down at <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> shiny eyes, his nose bridge, and his plump lips. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> didn't mind the few centimeters difference between them as his view was as beautiful as Mark thinks of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span>. </p><p>"I brushed my teeth, I'm just gonna wash my face. I'll shower after breakfast." Mark said sending the water flowing from the tap. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> stood next to him brushing his hair out of his face. "Turn around" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> ordered pointing to the sink as he placed a hand on the back of Mark's neck pushing him to lean down while the other one grabbed as much water as it can to brush it against Mark's face washing it for him. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> placed a small kiss next to Mark's cut on his temple before grabbing a towel to dry the water dripping from it. "Let's go eat!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> smiled satisfied with his work. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> instantly regretted the fact that he asked the boys to prepare breakfast when he looked at the pile of dishes resting next to the sink. "Dang! All those dishes for scrambled eggs?" Mark asked pointing back and forth between the pan placed on the table and the plates, forks, knives, and other kinds of kitchen tools sitting on the island. "Our attempt to make pancakes failed so..." Johnny shrugged "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> bought other stuff that we can eat as well so we're good." Johnny nodded as they all sat around the table munching on their food before that Johnny announced that he had somewhere to go to. Mark thanked him for bringing some extra clothes for him before going into the shower himself leaving <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> and his cousin cleaning up the mess left behind. </p><p>"I'm glad to see you smiling big," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said as he rubbed the dish soap on the plates while <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> stood next to him washing it away knowing where this conversation is going. "He told you, didn't he?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> asked grabbing a cloth next to dry the clean dishes. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> washed his hands, he gave them a small shake before he casually rubbed them against his jeans dry. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> leaned his arm down on the edge of the sink, putting his weight on one leg as he watched <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> drying the plates. </p><p>"He did say something about you two having mutual feelings," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said clearing his throat. He watched a small smile creep up <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> face as his nose started to turn red. "He was waiting here when you dropped me off that night," <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> paused taking a quick glance at his cousin before looking back at the dishes in front of him. "He wouldn't leave, I was getting frustrated but he shut me down with a kiss, again" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> sighed out pulling his bottom lip inside of his mouth recalling the memory. "Are you two together now?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> asked plopping both of his elbows on the edge of the island trying to catch a glance of his cousin who was hiding behind his long bangs. He saw <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> shake his head twice "No, it's all new to us. We're being careful I guess?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> said putting down the pan before turning back to look at his cousin who was smiling at him. "That's a wise choice, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Hyuck</span>!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> nodded at him before pulling him into a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you though" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> whispered ruffling the back of his hair. "Call me whenever you want to talk about that incident?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said and <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> knew what he was referring to. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> gulped nodding his head in response.</p><p>Mark appeared into the living room a few minutes later looking all fresh. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> loved the smell of his own products on Mark, it made him feel like he belonged to him. "<span class="scayt-misspell-word">Aight</span> boys!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said making his way to his jacket. "Call me if you need anything, Ok?" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> said leaning down to give <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> a kiss on his forehead. "Will do!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> smiled big at him. "Take care, <span class="scayt-misspell-word">hyung</span>" Mark heard <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> say waving off his cousin by the door before closing it and getting back into the living room. Mark pressed his thumb on the spot where <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span> left a kiss brushing it away as he leaned down to print his own kiss there. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> raised both of his eyebrows at what Mark just did. Mark on the other hand looked very satisfied. "It's just <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Jaehyun</span>, you dork!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> called giving Mark's stomach a playful punch. " I don't care!" Mark shrugged "Let's dry your hair before you catch a cold!" <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> grabbed Mark's hand dragging him along with him back into the bathroom. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan's</span> phone buzzed in his pocket and the younger pulled it out to check the notification before he paused midway in the corridor making Mark who was walking behind him bump into him slightly. </p><p>Mark frowned at the back of <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> and decided to come closer and take a look at what suddenly made the boy stop on his track. <span class="scayt-misspell-word">Haechan</span> was blankly looking at the text message from an unknown number that reads: </p><p>
  <em>"I will not forgive you." </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Drop your thoughts in the comment section if you're reading this please?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*Mention of injury</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Who's that?" Mark's voice brought back Haechan from his little trip of deep thinking to real life. "I don't know." Haechan didn't intend to be so discrete but his voice came out as a whisper. Mark's arm reached for the phone to grab it from Haechan's hand. He tried to call the number, it didn't even ring once as he was directed to the voice mail. "Haechan," Mark called spinning his friend around. Haechan was swimming in his own pool of thoughts eyes looking unfocused. "You're not hiding anything from me, right?" Mark asked, eyebrows lifted and eyes full of concern. "You have to trust me when I say I'm not, Mark," Haechan said looking hurtful for a second. "I do, I do trust you! I'm just making sure." Mark said caressing the boy's bouncy hair.</p><p>"Do you think it's him?" Haechan asked taking his phone back from Mark's grip unlocking it to stare at the message again. "Do you think he would go this far?" Mark asked looking down at the words on the screen that suddenly turned their joyful morning into a gloomy one. "I mean he got kicked out of school right before finals, wouldn't blame him for not forgiving me," Haechan said locking his phone shoving it back into his pocket. "It's not like we didn't anything better to do so we decided to pick on him, Hyuck," Mark said placing his hands on his friend's shoulder. "He started it after all!" Mark shrugged and Haechan closed his eyes sighing. He then nodded and shifted his body forward. "Let's forget about it," Haechan said making his way to the bathroom followed closely by Mark.</p><p>They spent the afternoon going through their chapters, unit by unit until a loud yawn escaped Mark's lips. "Wanna take a break?" Haechan asked closing his notebook making sure to keep his pencil on the last page they were going through. "Can we nap?" Mark asked throwing his head on the back of the chair, eyes half-closed. Haechan stretched his arms standing up dropping down on Mark's lap the next second. Mark gasped at the sudden weight that occupied his lap as he pulled his head back up to look at Haechan who was rubbing his eye with the back of his thumb.</p><p>Mark's arms wrapped around his waist pulling him closer so he can sit more comfortably. "What's wrong?" Mark asked rubbing his nose on Haechan's shoulder. He knows that the younger gets cuddly when something is bothering him so he seeks comfort in someone else's presence. "Nothing, I'm tired" Haechan whispered throwing his arms around Mark's neck as he buried his face into it. Haechan's warm breath sent shivers running from the top of his ears to settle quietly on the bottom of his spine. Mark stared down at Haechan's neckline admiring the trail of moles he had down his nape. Mark once read that moles represent the spots where your past life lover kissed you and he thought he did a good job with it. Mark was pretty sure that he would've loved this boy even in his past life and he liked to think that, that's where he would've liked to kiss him the most in the past as well, which is also his favorite spot in the present and will continue to be in the future.</p><p>Haechan nuzzled his nose in the crook of Mark's neck which made Mark hug him tighter. "Are you thinking about it?" Mark asked his fingers combing Haechan's hair. "Not really!" Haechan answered closing his eyes to focus on how good Mark smelled. He smelled like detergent and Haechan thought that Mark is wearing one of the shirts Johnny brought him and that it must've been newly washed. His skin had a faint smell of vanilla which made Haechan feel like he's laying in a bathtub filled with warm water and scented bubbles. Haechan brought his nose closer to Mark's neck, his lips brushing lightly against it. "Are the boys coming later?" Mark asked keeping his voice low so he wouldn't disturb his sleepy friend. Haechan hummed in response sending vibrations against Mark's skin that suddenly felt burning. Mark sighed rubbing his hand up and down Haechan's forearm.</p><p>"Aren't you hungry? I suddenly want bagels with cream cheese," Mark whispered placing his chin on top of Haechan's head. He wished he knew how good it felt to have Haechan this close to his body, he would've done it a lot in the past. Mark frowned backing up to take a glance at Haechan when he didn't receive a response. He was met with his beautiful long eyelashes, eyelids closed and lips pouting as his cheek was pressed against Mark's collarbones. Mark chuckled at the sight, the boy was knocked out in a second and Mark thought it was probably because they had to wake up very early that morning.</p><p>Mark pulled himself up on his foot carrying Haechan's body in his arms, the boy snapped his eyes open in a second at the sudden move. "No, put me down you'll hurt yourself." Haechan clenched on Mark's shirt, legs kicking in the air. "Stay still!" Mark ordered pulling the boy closer to his chest as he limped to the bed. "Mark, no, Mark!" Haechan nagged as Mark put him down carefully on the bed. "Sorry for waking you up" Mark whispered giving Haechan's cheek a soft rub with his thumb. Haechan looked angry for a second before he sighed "Sorry for falling asleep" leaning into the touch. "Don't do that anymore, please" Haechan looked straight into Mark's eyes who placed his hands on both sides of Haechan's shoulder pushing him down on the soft pillow. "Go back to sleep, pretty thing," Mark said leaning in to place a sweet kiss on his nose. Haechan closed his eyes his hand blindly searching for Mark's on the bed. Mark noticed so he smiled grabbing Haechan's fingers between his, noticing how cold his fingertips were. "You're not gonna nap?" Haechan whispered eyelids heavy, he could barely keep them open. Mark took Haechan's hand close to his mouth giving the back of it a sweet kiss.</p><p>"You sleep, I'll be right next to you watching a movie." Mark smiled sweetly at Haechan who nodded pushing his lips forward slightly into a pout as his eyes closed again. Mark tucked him warm under the blanket. He made his way to turn the lights off, leaving a chance for the sun's rayons to show off their skills into lightening the room by sneaking in through the blinds. He brought his laptop to the bed climbing up silently to lie next to Haechan who looked like he drifted away again. Mark chuckled, amazed at how skilled his best friend was when it came to falling asleep very fast. He watched how peaceful he looked with his head leaning down on the pillow touching his shoulder with his chin, lips slightly parted. He truly was a sight to the eye and Mark felt the luckiest to have such a rare piece of art in his life that he could admire anytime in the day.</p><p>Mark piled up two pillows on top of each other and leaned down with his back pressing on them. He pulled the blanket over his legs placing the laptop on his lap. He scrolled for a few minutes up and down his Netflix page and settled with Sherlock Holmes to watch. He brought his earphones to his ears making sure the volume level wasn't pretty high that it could still burst through the device. He glanced at Haechan one last time making sure the boy was sleeping well before he clicked on play and started watching.</p><p>Mark knew he should've been sleeping as well since he's the one who suggested that they should nap in the first place. He then realized that he was staring blankly at the screen after 20 minutes trying to keep his eyelids open. His arm was behind his head, his knee was folded up in the air but his brain was floating somewhere Mark couldn't recognize. He tried to trace his thoughts but he failed miserably as there were a few of them and each was walking in a different direction. Mark decided to follow the happy thoughts. He thought about the present; his present which never seemed this delightful to him. He would say he hated thinking about the future the most but he found himself swimming in the depths of that ocean as well. He didn't find it hard to breathe that deep under the cold waters. in fact, the lack of oxygen made his mind clearer. Inside of his mind, he found himself walking in an art gallery with many paintings hanging on the walls, each of them represented an image of what his future looked like. Mark wouldn't say he's an art expert but he could definitely point out the one common thing these paintings had; Donghyuck. He was painted most beautifully in his mind and he realized that he can't see his future without him. Haechan is definitely an important part of Mark's life.</p><p>Mark drifted to sleep smiling at every painting his eyes scanned in his dream.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Mark's eyes snapped open by the loud ringing of the bell. He waited for his vision to clear up before he looked around noticing that Haechan wasn't in bed. His phone started buzzing under his pillow when the sound of the bell came to a stop. He picked it up, squinting his eyes at the sudden lightning coming from the screen. "Hello?" Mark answered voice sounding tired and sleepy. "Dude! Where the hell are you?" The voice on the other side was too sharp and loud that he could feel the silence in the room being sliced into two. Mark pulled the phone away from his face for a second squinting his eyes at the name the phone showed. "Renjun? Where's Haechan?" Mark asked and Renjun snorted "I could be asking you the same question, Mark" Renjun replied, "Aren't you supposed to be together behind this door that no one is willing to open?" Renjun said and Mark can hear how annoyed his voice out. "You're outside? Coming, coming, hang on" Mark said hanging up not bothering to waste time to find his slippers he just limped his way out the cold air welcoming the warmth his body was surrounded by.</p><p>Mark shivered as he opened the door revealing a very angry Renjun and a relaxed Jaemin next to him. "Sleeping? It's 6:40, Mark" Renjun rolled his eyes pushing Mark aside so he can make his way in. Jaemin just gave the confused boy a small squeeze on his shoulder as he walked in as well. Mark closed the door behind them "I didn't realize that!" He mumbled scratching the back of his head. "Where's Haechan though?" Mark asked again and Renjun just lifted his eyebrows at him "You seriously should stop asking us that question, Mark". Renjun rolled his eyes. "I ain't keeping him in my pocket," Renjun stomped his way to Haechan's room. "He's had a bad day, don't take it at heart," Jaemin said grabbing a packet of pretzels from the pantry to snack on. Mark shoved his face into his hands letting out a heavy breath that he was storing in his chest ever since he woke up. "We did call him though to get the door, but we couldn't reach him," Jaemin added with a mouth full which made Mark peek at him from between his fingers before putting his hands down showing his deep frown. Mark nodded in the direction of the bedroom hoping Jaemin would catch on and follow.</p><p>Mark did notice that his laptop had been taken away from him and placed back on the desk. He thought it had to be Haechan but he feels so confused because the boy is nowhere to be found and it's giving Mark a very unpleasant feeling in his stomach. Renjun had turned the lights on and emptied some space on the desk to set his own notebooks there. Jaemin stood beside him offering some of the salty snacks to which Renjun refused with a gentle shove.  Mark's eyes averted to the sticky note that was glued on the top of the nightstand and he snatched it away without any second thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Didn't want to wake you up</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm heading to the supermarket for grocery shopping</em>
</p><p>
  <em>See you in an hour sleepyhead</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Your FullSun</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Mark's thumb traced the familiar handwriting, fingertip stopping at the nickname Haechan used to call himself. Mark's always compared Haechan to the sun ever since they were young. The fact that Haechan still recalls those memories makes Mark's heart swell. Mark was not to blame when the boy literally brought brightness every where he went. He remembers Haechan smiling when Mark explained why he wants to call him 'FullSun'. "Am I the joy of your life?" Haechan grinned big as Mark shoved his face away from him rolling his eyes. He remembers that Haechan's grin quickly disappeared when Mark also said that a very bright sun can be harmful as well as it causes a headache when you're around it for too long and Haechan is too loud sometimes that his voice seems soundproof to the external world. Haechan ended up pouting walking away for being called a headache that day, flicking Mark off who was trying to chase him laughing cause teasing Haechan was always fun.</p><p>"Are you ok?" Mark asked addressing Renjun, pulling himself back to the current situation. Renjun looked up from his own laptop, pressing his lips into a thin. He sighed his frustration away, "Today is just not going well, Mark" Renjun bit his lip, his face reads distress "You always get tense before finals, Jun" Mark came closer to pat his head. "If you want to go home tonight it's totally fine, Haechan and I will manage by ourselves" Mark smiled at the boy who was looking up at him assuring him that it will be fine. "I am really sorry, Mark!" Renjun's eyes gleamed and Mark shook his head from side to side his smile never leaving his face. "Don't be! Focus on yourself tonight and get a good rest, OK?" Mark said which made Renjun smile back at him. "The teachers are wrapping up the units, no new lessons covered in the coursebook so you're not missing much! I'll leave the notes I took today here, I'll make it up for you tomorrow, promise" Renjun stood up to look through his bag for his notes but his busy hands were stopped by Mark. "Just go home both of you, we'll go through the notes all together tomorrow," Mark said the room suddenly lightening up as the three of them could hear the thunder grumbling announcing its arrival.</p><p>"We gotta hurry, Junnie" Jaemin clicked his tongue at the lightning bolts that kept appearing in the dark sky outside. "Looks like it's gonna rain anytime soon" Jaemin added. "Haechan?" Renjun blurted out looking like he suddenly remembered there's a missing person in the room with no background information about him. "Left a note, he said he went grocery shopping," Mark said wondering in the back of his head since when did Haechan leave cause he mentioned he will be back in an hour. "Text in the group when he's back, please?" Renjun said fixing his backpack high on his shoulders. "Sure thing!" Mark smiled waving his friends goodbye.</p><p>Mark reached for his phone in his pocket to call Haechan. Time read 7:03. Mark's phone call got canceled right away which made him wonder if the boy is somewhere where there's no good signal. He tried again and a third time but in vain. Mark gulped gnawing on his lip hard as he started to feel uneasy about the whole thing. He wished that Haechan woke him up so they can go together, but he knows Haechan wouldn't let him step a foot outside of the apartment until he's fully recovered. Mark started to feel sick in the stomach. His thoughts were swallowing him alive, traveling from the tip of his toes to settle on his teeth that kept grazing onto his lip almost drawing blood from how hard he keeps pressing.</p><p>His phone rings and Mark is quick to answer.</p><p>"Haechan?" Mark's voice sounds desperate.</p><p>He hears a sniffle.</p><p>"Haechan, baby, where are you?" Mark grabs on his jacket hanging on the armchair, his nails digging deep in the fabric as he hears a clear sob.</p><p>"I'm scared," Mark could finally hear the shaky voice.</p><p>"Baby, don't be! I'm here ok? And I'll be right by your side if you could just tell me where are you" Mark tries to be gentle with his words, tries pretty damn hard to be patient.</p><p>"I don't know" Haechan sobs.</p><p>The thunder is growling hard in the sky and Mark's heart beats faster when the line between them cuts. </p><p>"Haechan?" Mark keeps calling his voice ends up stuck in his throat when he dialed Haechan's number again but no answer.</p><p>His lips are dry and his breath is unstable as he presses the phone against his ear and calls for help.</p><p>"Mark, sup?" Johnny answers</p><p>"Donghyuck is crying and he's not answering, I don't know where he is Johnny, I don't fucking know, I need to find him now, please come!" Mark breathed out all at once hands gripping on his hair almost ripping it off.</p><p>"We'll get him home Mark, calm down! I'll be there in a minute"</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Mark's hands were rubbing his thighs up and down as he sat in the passenger seat next to Johnny. Johnny didn't know where to drive to. Mark mentioned that Haechan was supposed to be buying groceries so they drove around the supermarkets in their zone. The rain was pouring heavily and Johnny was trying to drive safely but Mark's tensed body next to him is making it difficult for both of them to keep their cool.</p><p>Mark jolted up in his seat when his phone started vibrating.</p><p>"Haechan! You have to tell me where are you, look around please try to describe the place" Mark cried out fingers curling into a fist.</p><p>"Uhm, hello?" Another voice answered and Mark frowned for a second.</p><p>"Who's this?"</p><p>"I just found your friend, Haechan I guess? He wanted me to call you, he seems dizzy and he refused to let me call an ambulance." The voice on the other line explained.</p><p>"Where is he, please!" Mark begged.</p><p>"I can send you the location, his phone's screen is barely working so can I send you from my own phone?" The voice on the other line sounded polite.</p><p>"Anything to get to him!"</p><p>"On it!" The voice replied "Ok, sent! It's an ally, might be hard to find so I'm letting you know!"</p><p>"We're 5 minutes away, is he hurt?" Mark asks and the boy on the other side of the call goes quiet for a moment before he hummed.</p><p>"He's got a cut on his cheek and he's holding his stomach! He's under my umbrella but he's drenched I gotta tell you"</p><p>"Can I call back if I can't find my way there?" Mark asked covering his mouth with his hand preventing his sanity from escaping through his throat.</p><p>"I'll be here!" The boy replied.</p><p> </p><p>"Your friend is on the way, Haechan" The boy kneeled down keeping his umbrella on top of Haechan preventing the cold water from attacking his body more than it already did.</p><p>TBC.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Can you please comment if you're reading?My inbox is full of cricket sounds, can you maybe fill it in with some love?<br/>Thank you so much for all the Kudos you left &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I want to let you guys know that I wrote this long chapter even though I have loads of work to do as well as upcoming tests. I truly hope this chapter won't disappoint you. Consider leaving a comment, please? </p><p>**Disclaimer:<br/>-I have no harsh feelings towards Xiaojun whatsoever. In fact, he's my bias from WayV. Remember, it's fiction!<br/>-Finished writing this around 2 in the morning, ignore errors please.<br/>** Warnings:<br/>-Mention of injury<br/>-Language<br/>-Angst(?) </p><p>A question you might want to answer if you're reading this:<br/>- Should I continue this story or stop at chapter 10?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Haechan appreciated the boy who decided to chase away his fear and keep him company. The boy came out of nowhere and Haechan was thankful for his friendly and helpful nature. He closed his eyes remembering how warm it was in bed with Mark before he left. It was around 5:40 when he walked down the streets on his way to buy the things he thought they needed. He remembered smiling when he stepped out of his apartment feeling the fresh breeze of air tickling his skin. Haechan inhaled deep taking in as much oxygen as he thought he needed, his lungs thanking him for the clean air that penetrated them.</p><p>He hummed to himself his feet dragging him to the bakery a few blocks away, hands tucked in his jacket's pockets as he skipped a few steps to keep himself warm. He could feel the cold air traveling around in the atmosphere, taking a seat on the tip of his nose to rest. The cold air came to the wrong address though because if there's one thing Haechan despised the most, it is cold weather. It didn't last long before that Haechan pulled his scarf up to cover half of his face, the warm fabric shooing the cold away. Haechan felt happy walking among the few people that were on their own way somewhere and he wondered if all of them were as excited as him to go back home to their loved ones. Haechan was definitely anticipating the moment he goes back to the apartment to fall into Mark's warm embrace until he feels his body warm up again. Haechan also hoped that Mark would recover soon so they can walk together and have a cup of hot chocolate somewhere in one of those cute coffee shops he was passing by. He could imagine both of them arguing about which cake they want to choose from the menu to share, Mark favoring vanilla over chocolate because that's how basic Mark is.</p><p>Haechan noticed that it got dark when he walked out of the grocery shop and wondered if Mark is still sleeping. He pulled his phone to check if any of his friends texted, but his notification bar was only showing that the device needed a new update. Haechan sighed swinging the bags he was holding as he decided to text Jaehyun to ask him about his day. With his eyes focused on the screen for a while, he didn't really notice that he had missed a turn and was walking into an unfamiliar neighborhood. He halted when he lifted his head up, eyes wandering around trying to figure out where did he suddenly travel to. He was about to turn around and walk back the same path that led him to this creepy area when he felt alerted by someone else's presence behind him, too close to his body not to notice it.</p><p>Haechan was suddenly shoved back into an ally shoulder hitting the concrete wall before he could even react. His phone dropped on the hard floor. His eyes widened at the sudden attack and fear took over him when the guy approached him. "What do you want? You can take it all, just leave me alone" Haechan breathed out trying to recognize the face but the mask on his face and the baseball hat made it impossible for Haechan to identify the threat that grabbed him by the collar the next second pushing him up against the wall.</p><p>"Take it all," The guy snickered jabbing his knee right into Haechan's stomach. The contact made Haechan choke hard on his breath, gasping for air, vision going blurry in a second. The plastic bags dropped from Haechan's grip as his hands tried to push away the guy by his wrists. "Your stupid wallet doesn't have what I need, boy" The guy added cupping Haechan's face in aggressively, fingernails digging into Haechan's skin who groaned under his breath. Haechan's head bumped on the wall behind him as he started to find it hard to breathe by the second. Haechan noticed that this guy wasn't alone as there was someone else standing at the entrance of the ally probably making sure no one would get suspicious of what was going on down there. Haechan knew he had no chance to escape and the air level was getting low in his body as his attacker was pressing hard on his neck.</p><p>"Xiaojun" Haechan whispered eyes dropping low on him. He felt the guy's grip weaken when he called his name "Stop beating around the bush, you're getting nothing out of this," Haechan coughed his hands grabbing tighter on Xiaojun's wrists "You have to tell me what's your problem so we can work it out," Haechan gulped his eyes getting teary hating the fact that the fingers pressed against his face are not Mark's. He wanted to rip the boy's hand off so bad but he couldn't find the strength to do it. He wished this was just a nightmare and that he could wake up in bed next to Mark, but the grip on his face was too hurtful and real for it to be a dream.</p><p>"Stay away from Taeil, I'm telling you" Xiaojun whispered through his gritted teeth shoving Haechan's face to the side. The harsh move opened the soft skin on Haechan's cheek and it burned. He figured it was probably the ring Xiaojun was wearing that scratched his face in that way. Haechan felt confused more than anything the moment Xiaojun answered. 

Haechan dropped on his knees when Xiaojun released him from his grip walking away casually leaving Haechan in the darkness trying to catch his breath giving a side glance to Xioajun who quickly disappeared out of sight. "Fuck!" Haechan whispered as he crawled to his phone that was thrown between a few rocks on the ground. A part of the screen was glitching and Haechan's hand started trembling when he heard a few other people passing by assuming that he was drunk, one of them laughing asking his companion if they should go and 'play with him for a while'. 

Haechan bit on his lip hard letting out a shaky breath when the guy said they better keep walking. He was definitely in the wrong neighborhood. Haechan hopelessly kept tapping on his screen, letting out a sob when the glass on the broken screen rubbed against his skin roughly. Haechan stopped clicking and pulled his thumb up when he heard the ringing sound coming from his broken device. Haechan's body was rocking back and forth as he kept biting on his thumbnail trying to muffle the sobs threatening to pour out of his mouth. 

He couldn't see the name of the contact he managed to call but he was desperately waiting for a voice to answer at the end of the line. He wrapped an arm around his stomach hugging his jacket closer to his body waiting.</p><p>The sudden lightning bolt followed by the loud thunder, encouraged Haechan's tears to come out and enjoy the boy's solitude. Mark's voice broke through the phone and Haechan's world felt safe for a second. The younger sniffled not finding the right words to say and before he could give the elder any useful information his phone died. Haechan pulled away from the device tapping on it aggressively, his sobs getting louder by the second as he regretted not telling Mark how he could get to him. 

The rain made its presence very noticeable as it suddenly dropped hard on the ground in front of Haechan's eyes, one drop followed by the other until it was pouring. It looked like the sky was trying to prove that Haechan's tears were no strong rival to them in this race. Haechan coughed hard, his stomach twisting at every cough that left his throat. He was bent down on the ground feeling hopeless as he couldn't find the strength to pull himself up and get the hell out of that place.</p><p>"Hey!" he heard a voice call and Haechan lifted his head up slightly only to drop it down again the next second. "Leave me alone, please" Haechan whispered clenching on the fabric of his jacket shutting his eyes close. "Are you hurt?" the voice sounded near and more clear this time. Haechan opened his eyes noticing the pair of feet standing in front of him. Haechan thought that this must be the point where someone tries and wake him up from this nightmare. 

"Let's move you away from here, you're wet," the voice said making Haechan frown wondering who did the universe decided to send for him for this rescuing mission. Haechan's arm was soon wrapped around the stranger's shoulders who was surprisingly strong enough to lift Haechan up to his feet in one move. Haechan growled at the pain in his stomach, dragging his feet to wherever this guy was leading him to. Haechan was placed on the stairs of one of the building's entrances where he found shelter under the ceiling and the umbrella that was covering him. 

The guy who helped him kneeled down in front of him and Haechan finally got the chance to see the face of his rescuer. "Should I call an ambulance?" the guy asked shaking his phone in front of Haechan's face. "No." Haechan responded leaning his head on the wall next to him, "Can you call my friend, please?" Haechan's voice came out as a whisper but the guy caught on the answer and nodded his head quickly. "Sure, do you have their number?" the guy asked and Haechan nodded sucking on his bottom lip as he started to feel cold. Haechan knows Mark's number by heart and he didn't waste a second to tell the guy who dialed it and called it right away.</p><p>"He's on the way, Haechan" the guy smiled at Haechan and Haechan could swear that the boy's eyes turned into beautiful crescents on his face which made him feel that whoever this person is, he was definitely a pure soul. "My name's Jeno to make it fair, cause I know yours," he said lips pressed into a thin line. "These are yours, right?" Jeno asked dragging the plastic bags closer to them. "I'll place your phone in one of the bags," He said fidgeting trying to keep his balance as one hand was occupied with the umbrella that was protecting Haechan and the other was trying to skip the phone through one of the gaps in the bags. 

"Do you need water?" Jeno asked with a small smile and Haechan almost chuckled at how innocent this boy is. Haechan shook his head from side to side grabbing on Jeno's hand that was holding the umbrella. Haechan's fingers drifted to the boy's wrist twisting it back until the umbrella was also covering Jeno's back that was exposed to the rain.</p><p>Jeno was surprised but he ended up smiling again when he realized what was Haechan trying to do. "I'm fine, don't worry." Jeno tapped on Haechan's knee. "Oh! Guess your friend's here" Jeno said answering his phone that started buzzing in his hands. "Ok, stay there, I'll come and get you" Jeno answered as he stood up. "Haechan, will you be able to hold this for me for a second? He's around the corner, I'll go get him" Jeno said pushing the umbrella through Haechan's fingers that wrapped on the plastic handle tightly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Minutes passed until Haechan heard the sound of feet running and splashing in the puddles on the ground. "I got you, Haechan" Johnny's voice rang in the boy's ears as he was lifted up into his arms. "These are his!" He heard Jeno say from behind Johnny. "Thank you so much for staying!" Haechan heard Mark's voice next. "No problem" Jeno answered. Haechan's grip weakened and dropped the umbrella that he kept holding on the ground as Johnny run towards the car hugging him as close as he can. 

Haechan could only remember that he was able to feel his fingers again when Johnny placed him in the backseat of the car that had the heater on. Haechan's fingers curled into fists as he kept shaking trying to find more warmth. He couldn't as his clothes were stuck to his skin and his hair was dripping wet. 

Haechan's teeth chattered as soon he was pulled into a hug. The familiar smell calming down his nerves immediately. He felt home even though he was still in the back seat of the car that started driving them back to where he hopes he'll be soon. "Come here," he heard Mark whisper in his ears as he pulled him even closer squeezing him between his arms. Haechan lost focus after that, eyelids shutting down surrendering to the cold.</p><p> </p><p>"Take him to the bathroom, Johnny," Mark pointed out dropping the bags he was holding on the kitchen table as he followed behind Johnny who sat Haechan down on the toilet seat. "He needs a hot shower" Mark announced turning the water on letting it run till steam started to emerge from the floor covering the whole room. "I'll step out to call Jaehyun," Johnny said taking his leave. Haechan's body kept shivering, eyes shut close, shoulders shaking and breath coming out heavy. 

"Hey, love" Mark's warm hands cupped Haechan's face and it felt like ice meeting fire. "I'm here now," Mark whispered which made Haechan open his eyes nodding slightly. "Let's get you out of these clothes," Mark said unwrapping Haechan's scarf, his hands making their way to unzip his jacket next. Piece by piece, the laundry basket soon was full of Haechan's wet clothes. "

Are you hurt anywhere?" Mark asked as he was taking off Haechan's sweater to reveal a red bruise in the center of the younger's abdomen. "Haechan!" Mark blurted out his fingers touching over the colored skin. Haechan hissed at the touch throwing his head backward. "Who the fuck did this to you?" Mark started to lose it, his emotions setting themselves free from under his control "Mark, I'm cold, please" Haechan murmured grabbing on Mark's wrist stopping him from touching his delicate skin. Mark sighed deeply before helping Haechan up to the shower.</p><p>"Hold on tight," Mark said placing Haechan's hands on both of his arms as Haechan backed up slowly under the pouring water. Haechan's muscles immediately relaxed as the warm water covered his entire body. His fingers curled around Mark's arms tightly as he could feel his body starting to calm down. His ears felt like they were buzzing and it was giving him a strong headache. Once he got under the shower, the sound of the water splashing on the ground continuously kinda muted all the other sounds they were playing in his head. 

"Are you Ok?" Mark asked, his hands holding on to Haechan's wrists rubbing comforting circles on them not minding that he was also getting wet. "I feel alive again," Haechan said giving Mark a small smile. Mark noticed the purple color that was sitting comfortably on Haechan's lips. He could tell that Haechan was still feeling cold. He placed his fingers under his chin and pulled his face in closer making him step away from the water for a second. 

Haechan's eyebrows creased cause he didn't like the fact that Mark was pulling him away from his comfort zone right now. Haechan didn't know that Mark was leading him to an even warmer place. Mark grabbed Haechan's lips between his which made Haechan loosen his grip on Mark's arm leaning in for whatever warmth Mark's mouth was offering him. Mark gently sucked on the younger's lips tilting his head from side to side trying to get a good taste of him cause he did miss him and he can't believe he's got him between his arms again. Haechan's body instantly warmed up inside out. He could feel that someone somehow found the keys to the cage of butterflies that sat in his stomach because they were suddenly released and they flew all over his body sending shivers in the spine of his back down through his thighs and up to the tip of his ears. 

Mark pulled away giving Haechan's lips a glance, he smiled when they saw them turn pink again. "Good," Mark whispered against Haechan's lips. "Get back in there!" Mark said pushing a flustered Haechan back under the water. "Let's wash your hair very quickly so it doesn't smell then get you to bed," Mark said squeezing some shampoo onto his palm, rubbing it on the younger's scalp next.</p><p> </p><p>Mark stepped out of the bathroom to be welcomed by both Johnny and Jaehyun who looked pale his hands squeezing together. "How's he?" Jaehyun asked, eyes desperately looking at Mark. "He's changing into something warm, he'll be out in a second" Mark smiled "I still don't know what happened but, he's got a scratch on his cheek and it looks like someone punched him in the stomach, it's bruised there!" Mark said releasing a deep breath rubbing his temple. Soon after, Haechan walked out of the bathroom "Hyung," he whispered when his eyes met with Jaehyun who immediately pulled him in for a hug. 

"I'm ok, I promise," Haechan said pulling away so he can look at his cousin who patted his hair "Let's get you under your fluffy blanket so you can tell us what happened," Jaehyun said holding his hand out for Haechan who accepted it and followed behind Jaehyun who made his way to Haechan's bedroom.</p><p>"I don't know how I ended up there, I was texting you and I didn't pay attention to where I was going," Haechan said grabbing tightly on his blanket with Mark sitting by his side and Jaehyun on the other whereas Johnny chose to stand next to the bed arms folded as he listened. "So you ended up there?" Mark asked referring to where Johnny and he found him. "Yeah, the next thing I know is that I was greeted with those street muggers" Haechan chuckled nervously "I refused to give them my wallet so one of them kicked me in the stomach" Haechan gulped "The other broke my phone." 

Haechan finished eyes blinking looking into different places as they finally settled on his lap where his fingers kept curling around each other. Jaehyun studied him carefully before he glanced up at Johnny who raised an eyebrow back at Jaehyun. Mark noticed their exchanges so he squeezed Haechan's shoulder which made the younger jolt up. "We will need to report this, Haechan," Mark said and Haechan immediately shouted a "No!". The three of them looked at him in a confused way and Haechan managed to quickly regain his composer again "I mean, I'm fine! There's no need to." Haechan answered almost whispering. 

"Babe!" Mark called making Haechan blush. "Warm-up, for now, I'm glad you're home safe and sound, we can talk about it tomorrow if you want, how does that sound?" Mark asked giving Haechan's shoulder a small kiss. Haechan nodded with a smile. "I'll get you something to eat, you must be hungry," Mark told him pinching the tip of his nose before he stood up making his way out. "We'll be in the kitchen. Mark can't be left alone there" Jaehyun jokingly said tucking Haechan's blanket on the sides before giving him a kiss on his forehead. "Try to rest, hm?" Jaehyun hummed to which Haechan nodded.</p><p> </p><p>"What was that about?" Johnny whispered to Mark once they were out in the hallway. "Haechan's acting weird" Mark answered frowning. "I'm talking about you, dumbass!" Jonny said knocking him on the back of his head. Mark turned around to defend himself then suddenly remembered that Johnny wasn't aware of what's going on between him and Haechan. He gasped and covered his mouth quickly as his face started to turn red. He heard Jaehyun laugh in the back. 

"You knew?" Johnny turned around to ask pointing at Mark. "That they have feelings for each other?" Jaehyun said giving Johnny's arm a punch leaving him stunned by the sudden reality. "I,... I couldn't tell you sooner,,, I-," Mark stuttered scratching the back of his hair. He heard Johnny chuckle which made him look up for a second. "Hey, I'm happy for you, Mark" Johnny said pulling him into a sudden hug. "You can tell me all about it later when things get better, Ok?" Jonny said giving Mark's shoulder a good squeeze. Mark nodded with a big grin on his face. "Let's make your love something to eat," Johnny said and Mark's grin dropped realizing that he's gonna be teased for the rest of his life now.</p><p>"So what do you think it is?" Johnny asked Jaehyun who was busy cutting a few vegetables on the cutting board. "I can't connect the dots, to be honest, but something seems off," Jaehyun answered. "Haechan keeps his wallet in his back pocket all the time, those guys could've easily reached out for it if they were after money," Jaehyun continued. "Why would they break the phone instead of stealing it as well?" Jaehyun carried on with a rhetorical question. "You see what I mean?" Jaehyun asked glancing up to look at Johnny who was busy looking at Mark who was leaning against the fridge looking down as he nervously played with his fingers. 

"I can see something else right there," Johnny said nodding at Mark who looked up to find both of the cousins looking right back at him. "You kids better step it up in your lying game or know better how to hide your feelings," Johnny said frustrated. "What are you hiding, Mark?" Johnny asked as Jaehyun dropped the knife wiping his hands on a cloth he had hanging from his jeans pocket. "Actually," Mark started. "Haechan got this message today from an unknown number," Mark said and both Johnny and Jaehyun frowned heads tilted to the side waiting for the rest of the story. "It says 'I won't forgive you' and I can't stop thinking that the same person who texted that is behind what happened to Haechan." Mark said, "The question is why is Haechan covering for them?" Johnny said looking at Jaehyun who looks more frustrated now that he's got another reason to prove that what he's thinking of is right. "Is there anything else we don't know about?" Jaehyun asked sounding serious which made Mark tense up. "No, there isn't," Mark said licking his dry lips. "Mark, you try to ask him, he might listen to you better, if he still insists on the same story we'll have to keep a close eye on him," Jaehyun said "Don't put too much pressure on him though, I don't want him to run away again from me" Jaehyun whispered the last part as he turned around getting himself busy with the vegetables again. Johnny caught on, to what Jaehyun said and he felt concerned "I'll help with these." Johnny said grabbing the carrots so he can go and wash them clean under the water before peeling them.</p><p> </p><p>Mark knocked gently on the door before making his way inside. Haechan's head peeked from under the blanket and Mark could see how glossy his eyes looked from far away. Mark placed a cup of tea on the nightstand before he dipped his knee on the bed crawling next to Haechan who scooted to the side making space for Mark under the blanket. "Were you crying?" Mark asked watching as Haechan lifted himself up to sit down leaning his head on the back of the bed. "No," Haechan answered with a small sniffle which made Mark chuckle. Haechan glared at him which made Mark smile softly. "Why did you cry?" Mark asked. "Out of relief?" Haechan answered sucking on his lip. "Brought you some tea, dinner isn't ready yet," Mark said nodding his head at the cup. "I don't feel like drinking tea" Haechan sighed. "What do you feel like then?" Mark asked searching for Haechan's hand under the blanket until he found it. Mark interwind their fingers giving Haechan's hand a small squeeze. "I feel like Mark's warm kiss" Haechan's sudden confession made Mark's brain go blank for a second. Haechan had asked him to kiss him numerous times previously but why does it always feel so new and raw whenever he does it again. It never fails to make Mark's heart jump and fall back in place with heavy feelings conquering it. "You got it," Mark whispered leaning in. Haechan closed his eyes waiting for the contact he's craving for but Mark's lips landed elsewhere instead. Haechan's eyes grew big as the pair of lips planted themselves so gently on his neck. Haechan's head tilted to the side unconsciously making more room for Mark to explore and he found himself griping on the bedsheet as he inhaled. Mark started moving his lips in slow-motion which made Haechan wonder if time is playing tricks on him because Haechan's world halted when Mark's tongue gave Haechan's skin a small lick. "Fuck" Haechan cursed, biting his lips as his sudden abrupt. Mark smiled against his neck, rubbing his nose on the soft skin before placing a hand on Haechan's cheek to turn his face around. "Hey, beautiful" Mark whispered and the sound of his voice unleashed new feelings Haechan didn't know a human being can feel. Haechan found himself leaning in, his eyes closing when he successfully captured Mark's lips between his. He felt relief and he stayed still for a few seconds enjoying the feeling of them connecting until Mark pulled away with a smile.</p><p>Mark grabbed a bandaid from his pocket and pursed his lips looking at the scratch on Haechan's cheek. "How did this one happen?" he asked Haechan as he placed the plaster on the soft skin brushing it with his thumb to make sure it's well glued. "I don't remember," Haechan said looking down avoiding Mark's eyes. "One of them tried to choke you?" Mark asked his eyes scanning the red circle around the boy's neck. Haechan looked down to check if it was that visible then clicked his tongue as he looked away again "I guess so" Haechan answered. Mark leaned in for the second time that night to kiss Haechan's neck, hoping that with every kiss he makes Haechan's pain will go away. "Did you happen to receive another text message?" Mark asked lifting Haechan's chin up to have a better look at his eyes that keeps avoiding Mark's. "No, Mark!" Haechan sighed. "It has nothing to do with that message, muggers are everywhere, it can happen to anyone, Mark" Haechan answered his voice sounding higher than Mark expected it to be. "I am just worried about you, I'm asking just in case there's something I need to know so I can protect you," Mark said brushing Haechan's hair away from his forehead. "I never want this to happen again, I was scared to death, Donghyuck".</p><p>"There's nothing to worry about, Lee Minhyung" Haechan smiled making Mark melt under that smile and the fact that Haechan answered back using his real name. "We have enough food in the fridge why did you go grocery shopping anyway?" Mark asked. "You said you wanted bagels with cream cheese" Haechan pouted and Mark's mouth opened slightly at the unexpected answer. "You got yourself into this because of my stupid cravings?" Mark asked feeling a bit disappointed that he's somehow behind the reason for what happened. "Don't call them stupid!" Haechan said scrunching his nose up in disapproval. Mark shook his head from side to side sighing. "Baby, why? We could've gone together another day." Mark answered bringing Haechan's hand up to a kiss. "Do you even realize that this is like the third time you call me that?" Haechan asked as Mark peeked at him as he continued to plant kisses here and there on his knuckles. "Call you what?" Mark asked which made Haechan chuckle. "Nothing" Haechan settled with that answer as he pulled his hand out to brush his fingers through Mark's hair. "You mean, baby?" Mark's face was suddenly an inch away from Haechan's who gulped at the sudden closeness. "The answer is right on your cheek, rosy boy," Mark said pecking Haechan's cheek that turned pink in a second. "You don't like it?" Mark asked brushing his nose against Haechan who smiled. "Who said I don't" Haechan whispered as he locked his finger in the back of Mark's hair pulling him into a kiss.</p><p>"Soup's read- Oh! Ha! Ok! Maybe later," Jaehyun stuttered as he walked in on both of them kissing. Mark pulled away quickly. "No! Hyung, please! He needs to eat" Mark called out before that Jaehyun completely disappeared. Jaehyun came back with the plate looking at both of them with teasing eyes. "Will you make sure he endures this for a couple of minutes on his stomach when he's done with his soup?" Jaehyun asked handing Mark an ice bag who gladly accepted it nodding his head. "Johnny's busy on the phone out there, we'll both leave soon, we're both one call away if anything happens Ok?" Jaehyun asked as both Mark and Haechan nodded. "See you tomorrow" Jaehyun smiled not forgetting to kiss Haechan's head before leaving, a habit of his. "Actually, I think I'm gonna crash on the sofa in the living room" Johnny's head popped inside the bedroom from behind the door whispering as his hands covered his phone's microphone. Mark gave him a thumbs up so he could carry on with his conversation. "Johnny will be here then, I'll come when I'm done with my shift tomorrow" Jaehyun smiled before he left.</p><p>"I really don't feel like eating anything" Haechan pouted holding his stomach. "Is that you asking for a kiss again?" Mark asked and Haechan shook his head. "I still feel cold.  Can we skip that one?" Haechan added pointing at the ice bag. Mark grinned at him and Haechan felt hopeful for a second. "The answer is a solid no to both" Mark said.</p><p>Haechan sighed accepting his fate. He didn't really know if his stomach was hurting from the punch of the uneasiness he was feeling from lying today.</p><p>TBC.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Who wants some bagels with cream cheese?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let's pretend that Haechan has a spare phone in this chapter. </p><p>Warning:<br/>-Use of language.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moon was no longer visible in the sky. The clouds gathered around it swallowing it whole in its darkness as it continued to rain heavily. The wind sounded the happiest outside as it kept swirling around, dancing, and celebrating its freedom. Haechan's eyes snapped open upon hearing the thunder grumbling loudly. His throat was dry so he gulped. He grabbed his phone from under his pillow to check the time. Haechan's eyes shut tight at the sudden brightness so he squinted his eyes until he was able to read the numbers the screen showed; it was 02:17 in the morning. Haechan's head turned towards Mark next who was knocked out right beside him, mouth pouting with a visible frown on his forehead. Haechan tilted his head to the side wondering what was bothering the elder boy in his sleep that he had to look that upset. He leaned down pressing his lips gently against Mark's forehead kissing the frown away, smiling at the small sound Mark made because of the contact. Haechan pushed himself out of bed grabbing his phone along with him as he tiptoed to the kitchen. </p><p>The younger boy stretched his body up reaching for a glass in the cupboards so he can fill it with water. He placed the glass on the kitchen island and proceeded to unlock his phone looking for a certain number to message. </p><p>
  <em>'Hi, I hope I am not bothering. Are you at work?' </em>
</p><p>Haechan typed, fingers trembling as he pressed the send button. He put his phone down and grabbed a bottle of water to fill the glass in; maybe the liquid could help calm down his nervous for a second. He didn't manage to take a sip as his phone buzzed and his hand quickly placed the glass down and grabbed the phone instead. </p><p>
  <em>'Hey, Haechan. I am, is everything Ok?' </em>
</p><p>Haechan bit his bottom lip so hard eyes shifting thinking if what he was doing in the middle of the night is the right thing to do. Since he already started it he thought that he just had to finish it. He can't retreat neither make up an excuse now that he sent the first message already.</p><p>
  <em>'Can we meet? We need to talk. It's important!!'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Like now?' </em>
</p><p>
  <em>'No. In the morning or afternoon? When you're done with work and well-rested?' </em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Fine with me :)'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'I'll wait for you to text me then?' </em>
</p><p>"Haechan?" Johnny's voice filled the room and Haechan's body almost jumped up and down in surprise. "What are you doing in the dark?" Johnny asked switching the lights on. "Jeez, Johnny I totally forgot you were sleeping here tonight" Haechan chuckled nervously placing his phone facedown pointing at the water cup beside him "I wanted to grab a glass of water, Johnny. I am fine" Haechan smiled. "Alright, kid. Make sure you get a good sleep." Johnny said yawning as he made his way back to the living room. Haechan placed a hand on his heart checking if it's still beating correctly letting out a heavy breath. He grabbed the glass finally gulping down a good amount of water to calm his nerves. He grabbed his phone next checking the reply he got. </p><p>
  <em>'I will, Haechan. See you tomorrow then.' </em>
</p><p>
  <em>'See you tomorrow' </em>
</p><p>Haechan locked his phone puffing the air out of his cheeks. He lifted his shirt up glancing down at the red spot on his stomach with furrowed brows. Haechan couldn't sleep properly. The train of thoughts that were running miles in his head was just too noisy for him and he couldn't close his eyes without feeling the pain circulating in his ears. He couldn't even tell if he was feeling scared, anxious, or just curious about it all. There were too many question marks floating around his head and he wanted to pop them out. There was one way to do that and it was to talk to the source from which all of this had started. What does Xiaojun have to do with Taeil and what kind of connection those two have to lead to such a series of unfortunate events. Haechan kept wondering breath getting heavier as one question led to another. He wanted answers and he was going to get them soon.</p><p>Haechan tucked the front of his shirt into his sweatpants and walked back to his room. Slowly climbing into bed, he placed his phone back under the pillow and lied on his right side staring at the boy sleeping in his bed. Haechan was truly amazed at how the presence of a person can make his heart swell that much. Mark was sleeping peacefully and Haechan cannot help bet fall in love deeper. Mark's body moved closer and soon his hand was on Haechan's cheek. "Why can't you go back to sleep?" Mark asked rubbing Haechan's soft cheek with his thumb. </p><p>Haechan closed his eyes enjoying the touches he was receiving. "Does your stomach hurt?" Mark asked his hand moving down from Haechan's cheek to rest on his belly. Haechan took Mark's hand between his and leaned down to kiss Mark's nose. "I am fine, sleepyhead!" Haechan whispered and Mark opened his eyes to stare at his friend most sweetly. "Lay down, let me give you tummy rubs" Mark suddenly smiled as he pushed his body up on his elbow pressing Haechan's head down with a kiss on his forehead. Haechan found himself laying on his back with Mark by his side staring down at him. "Go back to sleep, Mark. You don't ha-" Haechan's voice got stuck in his throat when he felt his shirt being folded up slowly, Mark's fingertips brushing so lightly against his sensitive skin. Haechan's eyes closed and he gulped down the feelings that were piling up in the speed of light down his throat. His heart started to race at the delicate touches and he felt the urge to bit down on his lower lip hard when Mark's hand rested on his stomach slowly moving into gentle circles around the bruised skin. </p><p>Mark used his other hand to cup Haechan's cheek and the boy immediately opened his eyes as if he knew he was being called by the silent touches he was receiving. He locked eyes with Mark who looked down at him as if he was the most beautiful painting he had ever seen. Mark placed his thumb on Haechan's chin pulling down on the skin under his lip until Haechan's mouth parted so slightly and Mark smirked at the open invitation. Haechan had to admit that he felt nervous and very threatened as Mark's eyes darkened for a second. But there was a sort of pleasure circulating around his body so evenly that it felt so satisfying. Mark leaned in for an open mouth kiss not wasting a second before his tongue found its way behind Haechan's teeth. Mark is slowly becoming familiar with the tastes and corners Haechan's mouth offered and he enjoyed every bit of it. </p><p>Haechan's fingers grabbed on Mark's hair, his fingernails scratching lightly against his scalp and Mark realized that he had probably kissed Haechan enough times recently that he started to understand that when the younger locks his fingers around his hair it's a sign that he's enjoying whatever Mark is doing with his lips and that he definitely wants more of it. Mark chose to be a tease that night and pulled away earning a whine from Haechan at the loss of contact. "Disappointed?" Mark chuckled and Haechan's eyes opened quickly looking in a different direction. Mark totally loves it when Haechan tries to avoid him and Haechan does it because he hates it when he loses control over his senses and his body starts reacting on its own to Mark's orders. But Mark was quick enough to win the younger's attention back when shoved the blanket away of them pulling Haechan's shirt even higher exposing more of his smooth skin. </p><p>Mark licked his lips and Haechan can swear that he saw a hungry werewolf in Mark that night. The moment Mark leaned down and pressed his lips against Haechan's stomach the younger couldn't help but grab on the sheets he was laying on tight as he arched his back surrendering to the unfamiliar feeling that exploded inside of his body. He felt warm, too warm as if he spent the whole day sunbathing on a tropical island and his skin burnt against Mark's lips as if he forgot to bring his sunscreen that day and the sun found a home on his body. Mark opened his mouth slightly kissing around the bruise as his hand grabbed on Haechan's waist pulling him closer. "Fuck, Mark" Haechan groaned as he lifted himself on his elbow to have a better look at his friend working his way around his torso. Mark looked up at him and noticed that his chest was heavily lifting up and down. "Like now?" Mark asked teasingly. "Only if you wish" Haechan responded with a side-smile and Mark almost lost it at the unexpected answer. </p><p>"I could but," Mark said leaning down to place a few more kissed on Haechan's hip up to his belly which made the younger throw his head to the back with a heavy sigh. "Not tonight" Mark finished pulling Haechan's shirt back down. He wrapped his arm carefully around Haechan and pulled him in closer as he buried his face in the crook of his neck. Haechan pulled the blanket back on top of them and brushed his fingers through Mark's hair enjoying his warm breath kissing his neck now and then. "Let's sleep" Mark whispered so innocently as if he wasn't the one that just set fire into Haechan's body without taking the responsibility to put it out first. Haechan just hummed clinching on Mark's shirt with his other hand. Soon, they both fell back to sleep into each other's arms making the wind outside swirl stronger wishing it also had someone to travel around in the atmosphere with. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Haechan's still sleeping?" Johnny asked when Mark appeared in the kitchen with his hair poking out in every direction. "Yeah, didn't want to wake him up" Mark answered yawning as he dragged his feet to stand next to Johnny. "Kinda missed your pancakes" Mark smiled shoving his hands in his sweatpants, head leaning down closer to the pan taking in the sweet smell of the baked dough. Johnny had to shove his face away as the boy was getting too close to the heat. "You could've eaten them more often if you didn't decide to fall in love with your best friend and move here" Johnny responded flipping the pancake that was starting to bloat. </p><p>Mark felt his face heat up and he knew that his ears were turning red. "First of! I didn't move here, he was taking care of me and now I'm kinda taking care of him" Mark said clearing his throat "And I didn't decide to fall in love with him it just happened." Mark added scratching the back of his hair making Johnny laugh because he looked and sounded adorable somehow. "I'll come back after finals, we're kinda studying together since we're missing school this week," Mark said taking out a plate, preparing it for Johnny to transfer the cooked pancakes onto it. "Mhm, studying" Johnny teased and Mark rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What about you? How's work?" Mark asked placing the plate down as he grabbed another one for himself successfully drifting away to another topic. </p><p>"A company called yesterday, they're potential clients and they might bring useful sponsors with them. The meeting's next week so I need to be in the office in a few hours so we can start the preparations" Johnny said turning the stove off as he grabbed both his and Mark's plates to the table. Mark was already seated holding his fork up waiting to munch on his favorite breakfast. "I'm happy for you, Johnny" Mark grinned and Johnny didn't know if the boy is genuinely happy cause his work is blooming in a good way or because of a couple of pancakes sitting in front of Mark on a plate. "Do you think Haechan has any honey here?" Johnny asked opening different cupboards. </p><p>"I don't but there's chocolate" Haechan leaned on the door frame rubbing his eye with one hand and pointing with the other at the nearest cupboard to him. "You're up!" Mark smiled at him opening one arm so he can walk towards him and Haechan did like an obeying puppy being called by his owner. As soon as Mark wrapped his arm around Haechan's side, the younger leaned his cheek on top of Mark's and closed his eyes as he hugged Mark's shoulders. "Go back to sleep if you need to, it's only half-past nine," Mark said rubbing his hand up and down Haechan's side. The younger soon slipped away from his grasp and plopped down on the chair next to him, his eyes half-open as he shook his head. "I need to go somewhere," Haechan said as Johnny slid a plate with a pancake on it in front of him putting the chocolate he found on the table for them to share. </p><p>"Somewhere?" Mark repeated grabbing Haechan's plate to cut the pancake into small pieces for him to eat. Johnny on the other hand smiled at how loving both of them are and wondered how come he had never noticed how deeply in love these two were. "Does any of you kids need milk?" Johnny asked pouring himself some orange juice. Both Haechan and Mark glared at him which made Johnny throw his hands up in the air as a sign of surrender. "Fine, do you want any juice grown-up kids?" Johnny asked which made both Haechan and Mark look at him with puzzled faces; not very much impressed with the reformulated question.  </p><p>"Library," Haechan said opening his mouth for Mark to feed him. Mark did with joy watching as Haechan munched slowly on the food. Haechan grabbed his fork from Mark's hand pointing at Mark's plate indicating that he should also eat. "What for?" Mark asked dipping a bite of his pancake into some chocolate. "Renjun said there's a book that the teacher needs us to skim through so I'll go grab it quickly and come back" Haechan explained grabbing Johnny's orange juice to sip on it. The eldest among them pursed his lips into a thin line cause he obviously hates sharing his food and mainly because none of them said they wanted juice when he asked. He proceeded to pour more into the cup though without complaining. </p><p>"I'll go with you," Mark said as both Haechan and Johnny looked at him. "What? I can walk, I'm totally fine and I'm definitely not letting him go out by himself ever again" Mark said pointing his thumb to Haechan who was sitting next to him as he looked at Johnny who raised his eyebrows at him. "You're definitely not going anywhere! You're still limping and you've put too much pressure on that foot lately. So if you want a full recovery you better stay here, Mark" Johnny said narrowing his eyes on him. "I'll drop Haechan on my way to the office and he can grab a taxi on the way back" Johnny suggested looking at Haechan. </p><p>Haechan placed his hand on Mark's lap giving it a small squeeze cause he was certain that Mark was getting upset by the second. "It's daytime, Mark. Nothing's going to happen to me, I'll be fine I promise" Haechan assured "I'll be back in no time!" Haechan smiled and Mark sighed slumping his shoulders. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Good luck with your preparations Johnny!" Mark encouraged his cousin by the door grinning at him. "You're the boss!" Mark added with a wink. "Ok stop! Thank you." Johnny said waving him off as Haechan came running from behind with his backpack swinging on the side. "I'll be back soon" Haechan smiled stepping into his shoes as he followed behind Johnny. The door closed and Mark stood there looking at it wishing that time would move very fast so that the door opens again the next second with Haechan standing behind it. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Thanks, John!" Haechan said as he jumped out of the car. "Take care and go back home as soon as you find that book" Johnny ordered and Haechan just closed the door of the passenger seat giving Johnny a thumbs-up through the window as he started walking towards the library. Renjun did ask Haechan to pick up the book for them so that both he and Jaemin can make it earlier to his apartment after the lessons. Usually, Haechan would nag and complain when he's asked to do something but this time he almost felt so grateful to Renjun cause he gave him a perfect escape without Haechan having to lie even more. Haechan's plan was to grab the book quickly as Johnny ordered him to do except that he won't go back home as soon as he's done. </p><p>Haechan snapped a picture of the book's cover sending it to Renjun asking if he's got the right one. Once Renjun confirmed that it's the right book, Haechan proceeded to shove it in his backpack asking the lady at the main desk for the form to fill in so she would let him know when he'll have to bring it back. With a big smiled he bowed goodbye to the worker and left for the second destination that was making him feel nervous the closer he got to it. </p><p>Haechan waved at the boy that was waiting for him next to the glass window in the coffee shop once he entered. He walked towards the table placing his backpack on the back of the chair pulling it back to sit down. Once he did he pressed his lips into a thin line "I'm sorry you had to come straight from work to meet, it's kinda urgent and I couldn't wait for your text" </p><p>"It's ok, Haechan" Taeil smiled pushing the dessert he ordered closer to Haechan "Your favorite!" Taeil said anticipating a reaction from the younger boy. Haechan just pushed the plate back bitting the inside of his cheek."Thanks, but I just had breakfast" He answered with a small bow of his head. "What is it Haechan that made you so impatient about this meeting?" Taeil asked crossing his arms on the table. Haechan lifted his eyes from his lap and looked straight into Taeil's eyes. "Do you know Xiaojun?".</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Haechan had to take a seat on a bench across from the river that runs in the middle of the city. He hugged his backpack as he stared at the water shine under the sun light. He wanted to organize his thoughts but he didn't know from where to start, everything was all over the place and he felt like an intern on his first day in a new company and that no one was willing to help him find the starting point. Haechan closed his eyes hoping that he was just experiencing seasonal fluctuations in moods. He didn't know how to feel or where to place all of the new information Taeil provided him with. Deep inside he knew that he had to talk it all with his cousin soon and that he couldn't hide this from Mark any longer either. His body ached so he buried his face into the backpack rocking himself back and forth, a habit he's picked since he was a child; it helps him calm down. </p><p>All the thinking was starting to give Haechan a headache, he brushed his fingers through his hair pushing it back as he inhaled deep. Haechan decided to take it step by step, maybe he should just focus on his finals first and then try to solve for what seemed to him a complicated one million puzzle piece and in the meantime, he hoped there would be no more troubles waiting for him around the corner. He didn't want to think about the near future, he just wanted to focus on the present. He thought could do that but he couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling that keeps knocking on his doors knowing that Xioajun is out there and might be waiting for another opportunity to satisfy his dreadful needs. </p><p>Haechan walked into the convenience store grabbing a few of Mark's favorite snacks, smiling and thinking that he must be sulking at home waiting for him to come back. Haechan grabbed his wallet from his back pocket when he was greeted by the cashier smiling so brightly at him that Haechan had to blink twice. "Good morning si- OH?" the guy behind the counter dropped his jaw as he pointed at Haechan. "Alley boy?" He asked which made Haechan chuckle at the nickname. "I guess so" Haechan shrugged and laughed placing the snacks he was hugging on the counter "You work here, Jeno?" Haechan asked grinning at the coincidence. "You remember my name. And yeah! Part-timer though. Are you ok?" Jeno asked scanning Haechan from head to toes before grabbing the first goodie to scan it over the beeping machine. "I am, thanks to you" Haechan answered. "I owe you, smiley boy". </p><p>Jeno waved his hands up in the air shaking his head from side to side "Don't mention it, I'm glad you're all fine" Jeno smiled and Haechan remembered how the boy smiled the same way at him that night despite the situation they were in. "Do you need anything else?" Jeno asked placing everything inside of a plastic bag as he raised his eyebrows at Haechan. "Yeah, maybe you could come to hang out with us someday?" Haechan grabbed the bag swinging it by his side as he looked at Jeno with hopeful eyes. "You got my number and you know where to find me. I don't mind making new friends" Jeno answered eyes disappearing again and Haechan wondered if the boy knows that he's got crescents sitting on his face when it's only 12 in the afternoon. "I'll see you soon, Jeno" Haechan smiled ad he walked out of the store grabbing a taxi to go home. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"I'm home," Haechan said taking his shoes off walking lazily towards the kitchen to drop the snacks he bought. Haechan jolted up in surprise when Mark buried his face on Haechan's back wrapping his arms around him clinging to him. "What took you so long?" Mark groaned and Haechan had to tap on his arms a few times for him to lessen his grip around his stomach "It hurts baby" Haechan whispered and Mark instantly pulled away spinning him around with apologizing eyes. Haechan smiled at him "Hungry?". Mark nodded with a pout </p><p>"Why do you look pale?" Mark asked furrowing his eyebrows. "It's too cold outside," Haechan said tilting his head to the side closing his eyes. "I feel cold" he added in a small whisper. Mark scanned the boy's face noticing the drops of sweat on his forehead, he pushed his bangs away slightly as he glanced at his lips suddenly becoming aware that they were almost purple. Mark furrowed deeper cupping Haechan's face into his hands, one of them shifting from pressing on his cheek to his forehead to the back of his neck. "Haechan, you're burning!" Mark exclaimed as he blinked. Haechan's eyes opened again "But I'm cold" he whispered taking his face away from Mark's hands only to shove into Mark's chest rubbing his cheek looking for some warmth on Mark's sweater. "You're running a fever, stupid" Mark sighed hugging him close. "Come here," Mark said grabbing Haechan's hand as he walked him to the living room. </p><p>Mark helped Haechan out of his padded coat placing it on the armchair. Haechan started shivering as he sat down on the sofa. "I knew this would happen, fuck" Mark cursed under his breath making his way out of the room coming back with a thick blanket to wrap Haechan inside of it. "Lay down, I'll tuck you in," Mark said giving the back of Haechan's head gentle strokes as the younger obeyed. Haechan's hands folded into small fists and Mark noticed the way he was shaking. "I'll keep you warm and try to bring your fever down, Haechan," Mark said pulling the blanket all the way to the boy's chin who just nodded at him eyes closed and mouth parted taking in shaky breaths.</p><p>Soon, Mark was sitting on the edge of the sofa next to Haechan with his arm thrown above the younger's head as he pressed a cold cloth on Haechan's forehead with his other hand. "Sleep, baby" Mark whispered dragging the cloth to his red cheeks next. He could see the relief on Haechan's face because he keeps leaning into the cold fabric that was cooling off his skin. It only took a few minutes for Haechan to fall asleep with Mark brushing his hair as he continued to work his way on Haechan's face with the cold fabric. </p><p>Mark's heart ached as he continued to wish that Haechan had never left the apartment yesterday. </p><p>TBC.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I made a twitter account as I might start writing aus as well. Would you be interested to read? </p><p>Find me here: @nomdeguerr3 , dms are open &lt;3 </p><p>Felt the need to update so I'm sorry if this chapter feels rushed... Totally appreciate the kudos and comments, they make me so happy!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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